Seasons, Ages, Secrets
by Jennalaia
Summary: When the Oracle's Treasures are destroyed, is the only way to restore them really to become outlaws? Takes place in an alt universe after OoT and Oracles. Read and Review, please!
1. Circus in Labrynna

Courage

Farore sat, bored, in the Maku Tree in Labrynna. Nobody visited her after Link had left. Nayru was still busy making sure everything was all right with the timestream, and Din kept visiting Subrosia to make sure the Temple of Seasons was completely cleansed of Onox. Apparently there was no way to raise a thousand-ton temple after it sunk.

Today, though, was different. The three Oracles would get to see each other after a long time. Din's circus troupe was touring in Labrynna, and Nayru was going to perform with her. Farore would be relieved of her boredom in a few short hours. Nothing could ruin the day.

And yet…

Something was off today. Something didn't feel right in Farore's chambers. The books were askew on the shelf, no longer arranged in the neat alphabetical order she always had them in. The papers on her desk were rumpled, a few drops of ink splattered upon the wood surface. Her quill wasn't in the same place she'd left it in, and the feathers on it were ruffled.

It's probably nothing, Farore told herself. She flipped through her Treasure- the Tome of Secrets that held Hyrule's greatest legends, secrets, and spells. It was a thick, old-looking, leather-bound book embossed with the Crest of Courage- Farore's goddess counterpart's symbol.

"Feeling alone?" a voice said from the entrance, startling her. Farore looked up; it was Impa. The large, Goron-like woman filled the doorway. Unlike most other days, where her face was taken up by a large smile, it was grim. "You'd better come to town," she said. "Something strange is going on."

"So it isn't just me," Farore said, slipping the Tome in her book bag. "My rooms aren't how they should be. Someone or something was looking through my stuff."

"That's nothing," Impa replied. "Wait till you hear the latest gossip."

Wisdom

Nayru carefully strummed the strings of the Harp before putting down the tuner. The Harp of Ages, a pretty red-blue harp with green leaves at the top, had seemed a bit out of tune. The Strings of Time had been a little loose. Now they were tighter. Inked on either side into the delicate wood of the Harp was the symbol of Nayru's counterpart goddess, the Crest of Wisdom.

She strummed it experimentally. The room rippled around her as she dove partway into the timestream, straightening out when she stopped.

Nayru frowned. Something was off. There was something different in the timestream that wasn't supposed to be there. She didn't like it, whatever it was. A premonition came onto her, fading into near nonexistence quickly, but it was still there.

Nayru stood and grabbed some magic powder she'd gained from Syrup the witch. She sprinkled it into a boiling pot of water over the fire. The steam rising formed a picture; too dark to see nothing but the faint outlines. The outlines did not look familiar. "Tsk," Nayru murmured. She swiped a hand through the smoke, and the image dissolved.

Nayru grabbed the Harp of Ages. She was going to go to the town a little early in hopes of seeing Din before the show. Perhaps Farore had the same idea, she thought with not a little excitement. She hadn't meant to be so busy, but there were several small tweaks in the timestream that she had needed to fix. She hadn't seen her fellow Oracles in a long time, she reflected as she walked out of her house and down the path of the town.

Power

Din walked into the crew tent behind the curtain. "Impa, I'm hungry," she moaned. "I need strength to dance, you know."

She stopped. Impa wasn't in the tent, crouched over a pot or pan or whatever she was cooking. Strange. Din shrugged and walked out. Just behind the curtain, the rest of the troupe was sharing bread and fruit.

Din swiped an apple from the tray and bit into it. The sweet taste of the fruit filled her mouth. It tasted more like Summer than Autumn, when it was harvested. Spring always tasted spicy, like a good curry made from the best ingredients. Summer was sweet and juicy, just like the apple Din was eating. Autumn usually tasted dry but tasty, like pumpkin seeds. Winter was succulent, like a fat steak from a healthy cow.

Din opened her small chest of belongings. It seemed to contain changes of clothes, hair ribbons, and a book or two. Din pushed up on the lid, which was a false top. The Rod of Seasons dropped into the chest. She picked it up and ran her fingers over it, feeling the carved Crest of Power on the top. The white wood also had the four signs of the Seasons on the knob at the top.

Din delicately placed the Rod back in the secret compartment. As she thought: there was discord among the Seasons. She would have to visit the temple after the show through one of the hidden warps in Labrynna.

"Din! There you are!" the Ringmaster said breathlessly. "The show's about to start!"

"Sorry, Ringmaster," Din said cheerfully. "I'm coming." Din, the dancing girl, was the highlight of the entire troupe. It was because of her that the troupe was even touring.

"Din?" the Ringmaster's son said tentatively. "Th-there's a girl here to see you."

Din looked up. Nayru stood awkwardly at the edge of the curtain, clutching the Harp of Ages in her fingers.

"Nayru!" Din cried. "You're just in time. Ringmaster, this is my friend Nayru," she said. "She's the one I told you about- the one who'd be playing with us today?"

"Ah yes, Nayru," the Ringmaster said vaguely. "Thank you for coming."

"Din is a very close friend of mine," Nayru smiled. She gently strummed her Harp. "I'm happy to help anytime."

As the Ringmaster walked away, Din gave Nayru a hug. "I'm so happy to see you," she said. "Have you seen Farore?"

"I ran into her," Nayru said slyly. "She was browsing the bookstore. I gave her that extra front-row pass you sent me."

"I can't wait until after the show," Din said truthfully. "Unfortunately-"

"Don't tell me," Nayru said suddenly, looking worried. "You've felt something… wrong?"

"Yes," Din said, a little surprised. "If you'd like to meet up with me right after the show, I'll give you a quick tour of Subrosia. I need to check the Temple- the Season Spirits are troubled."

Nayru nodded. "There's something weird about the timestream. I can't shake the feeling that something's going to go horribly wrong."

"The show's about to start," Din said. "After the opening act and the twins, we're up. You can watch from the audience 'til then."

Nayru nodded. "I want to find out if Farore has felt something too." She walked back out and sat in her reserved seat.

Courage

Farore watched Nayru sit next to her. "What'd she say?" she asked.

"She's the third act," Nayru told her. "She'll meet up with us after the show. Tell me, Farore, have you… felt something strange?"

Farore blinked. "Yes. Impa came to me this morning. I've been in town all day. She said there was something going on, and boy, was she right!"

"What happened?" Nayru asked urgently.

"The town gossip- they're whispering secrets that shouldn't be heard outside the Tome. I don't even know how they know them." Farore gripped the Tome in her arms more tightly. "Someone was in the Maku Tree last night. They were looking for something."

Nayru gasped. "How horrible."

"They were looking for the Tome, I know it," Farore said fiercely. "What is going on?"

"I don't know," Nayru said sadly. "There's something strange in the timestream. I don't know what, but I don't like it."

"I wish Link was still here," Farore said wistfully. "He'd know what to do."

"I do like Link," Nayru said, her tone suddenly bitter, "but I also know that we can protect ourselves without his help. We're the Oracles, for Power's sake! We're strong enough to protect ourselves."

Farore couldn't hide her smile. The Oracles were in agreement not to use the goddess's names when speaking like that, otherwise they would be confused.

"The show is starting, hush," she hissed as the curtains parted.


	2. Something There

Courage

The show went along wonderfully. Nayru watched Farore's face light up in delight when she saw Din twirl onstage. After a few minutes of Din dancing, Nayru walked up and played a song on the Harp. It didn't hurt, Farore noticed, that Nayru and Din subtly let their magic flow. A pretty haze appeared around Din while a mysterious unfelt wind carried flower petals in a circle around the dancer. Nayru even added in some vocalizations while playing the song on her Harp. The rest of the show afterward took on an ethereal quality that left the audience enchanted and begging for more.

After the show, Farore and Nayru met with Din at a nearby café. The three Oracles chatted for a few minutes, happy to see each other again.

Finally, Nayru set down her bread roll and rum, and the expression on her face was serious. "Din, Farore and I have sensed something strange in our own parts of power. Something is not right here."

Din nodded. "I've felt a chill today, while dancing. Remember when I missed a step today?" Nayru nodded. Farore, though she'd seen no such misstep, nodded too. "That's when I felt it. It's July. Why would I feel a chill? That's why we're going to Subrosia this afternoon." Din grinned. "Of course, in Summer, it's almost impossible to visit Subrosia, since the heat above makes the world below unbearably hot."

"How are we going to visit then?" Nayru scowled.

Din winked. "Luckily, you've got me on your side. I've got a potion stocked up that lets your body take the heat. I've been using it to visit the Temple of Seasons lately. The effects last for six hours."

"Where's the potion?" Farore asked.

"I've got it with me in my trunk," Din explained, "back with the circus troupe. We need to go there, anyway, to get the key to opening the Temple. By the way, anyone seen Impa?"

"She came to the Maku Tree," Farore quipped. "She said she'd meet us back there."

The other two Oracles nodded in satisfaction. The Maku Trees were considered safe havens for the Oracles at any time, which was the main reason they mostly spent their time in Holodrum and Labrynna.

Nayru finished her bread and set a few rupees down on the table. "Din, you go get the potion and the Rod. I'll go back to my home to pick up a few things. Farore, can you meet Impa back at the Maku Tree?"

Din and Farore nodded.

"All right. Meet at the Maku Tree in an hour." The three Oracles stood and headed out in different directions.

Power

Din ran into the caravan. "Ringmaster, I'm going out-"

She stopped. The caravan was deserted. Nobody was in the wagon. The fire was out. She knew they weren't hiding; she would have heard the twins giggling in a corner. No, something had happened. Din drew the dagger out from under her suit.

"Who's there?" she said loudly. "Ringmaster? Rishu? Terra? Julia? Guys?"

A chill ran up her spine. She sensed the presence of evil. She recognized this evil, and suddenly Din felt more terrified than ever.

This special brand of evil was called Onox. But he was dead- Link had killed him months ago. So why was Din feeling his presence here? Now?

Whatever was going on, she didn't like it. Instead of simply grabbing the potion and the Rod, she picked up her entire trunk and ran for the Maku Tree.

Wisdom

Nayru pushed the third spellbook into her Leafsatchel- a gift from the Maku Tree. It had almost infinite space, meaning she could put it as much as she wanted to and it would weigh as much as the common housecat.

After a moment's thought, Nayru reached to the back of the shelf and pulled out her weapon: the Claw of Ages, a gift from Wisdom. It was similar to Link's hookshot- a magic-infused claw on the end of a long chain. It was Nayru's favorite weapon, especially when paired with a dagger. She put it into the pack along with a few daggers. Then she carefully set the Harp of Ages inside.

A laugh was heard outside. Nayru stiffened; it sounded like Veran, the vile witch that had used her body to nearly destroy Labrynna's past. She ran outside, expecting to see her old enemy, but the clearing was empty. Nevertheless, Nayru finished packing as fast as she could, locked the door, and hurried out.

Courage

Farore swung the Blade of Secrets a few more times to make sure she got the hang of it. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she knew she would need the old weapon from Courage. She had also prepared for the heat of Subrosia by dressing in a sleeveless top and a short skirt, in green of course. Her green hair, usually in two buns, was tied back in a ponytail.

Impa walked in, stumbling backwards as Farore swung the Blade in her direction. "Good heavens, Farore! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry, Impa," Farore said sheepishly, stowing the sword in its scabbard. "I'm jumpy, I guess. Something weird is happening."

"Yes, it's not every day you hear sacred secrets being tossed about casually in the streets," Impa agreed.

Din and Nayru sprinted inside so fast that Impa was bowled over. "S-sorry," Din panted.

"What happened?" Farore asked. "You're half an hour early." She had never seen her friends so shaken up.

"I felt her," Nayru shuddered. "But I couldn't see her, and she's supposed to be dead."

"Me too," Din said. "The troupe is gone. Everyone vanished."

"Who?" Farore demanded.

"Onox," Din said.

"Veran," Nayru said at the same time.

"But they're dead!" Farore protested.

"Exactly!" the other two Oracles chorused.

"I got scared, so I ran here," Din said.

"Me too," Nayru said, looking troubled. "Onox and Veran have been dead for months. Why did we feel their presences?"

"I don't know," Farore said. "But I don't want to find out. Let's go to Subrosia."

Nayru nodded and turned to Impa. "Impa, could you please go to Hyrule and tell Princess Zelda about this?"

"Yes, of course," Impa groaned, sitting up. "I'll go today. You go to the Temple of Seasons." She walked out of the room.


	3. Trouble at the Temple

Courage

"There's a hidden Subrosian portal on top of the Maku Tree," Din explained, still looking pale. "It's for convenience, so I don't have to walk back to Holodrum if I need to get to Subrosia." She led the way through the back room and up the ladder.

"I didn't know there was a portal up here," Farore complained.

"You're the one who keeps her nose in books all the time," Nayru laughed.

Farore grinned. "They're good books!"

The three friends laughed and continued their climb to the top. At last they pulled themselves over and found themselves in waist-high grass.

"Should be in one of these bushes," Din said, pushing a clump of grass out of the way.

It was several minutes until Farore called, "Found it!" The other two Oracles joined her. Farore had pulled aside a large bush and discovered a hollow inside. A swirling mass of blue pulsed in the center.

"This is it," Din confirmed. "We'll end up directly inside the courtyard of the Temple." She stepped onto the blue swirl. Her body became blurry and quite literally fuzzed out of view.

"My turn," Nayru said, but she looked hesitant.

"Oh, let me," Farore said, walking confidently into the portal. Her skin tingled, and suddenly Din was looking at her. The temperature was scorching.

Nayru fuzzed into existence. She walked off the portal, looking around. "So this is Subrosia."

"Not really," Din corrected. "This is the Temple of Seasons. Subrosia looks more desolate."

Walls of rich red stone rose up on all four sides. A few small archways were visible under triangular towers in different colors, each inscribed with the symbol of the Season. The largest archway stood directly in front of them, opening into darkness.

Din pointed towards the large archway. "That's what the Spirits and I call the Ground of None. It's basically a no-man's land where the Spirits can all meet in peace without feeling the wrath of each other. Usually you hear music and laughter…" She trailed off and frowned. Farore could hear why; instead of what Din described, there was what sounded like arguing.

"Let's go in," she said bravely.

Wisdom

Nayru walked into the room. It had an almost… ethereal quality to it. Multicolored tiles dotted the floor. Four flames burned brightly in each corner: blue, green, red, and yellow. A white altar was built into the center of the north wall. Nayru noticed Din gripping the Rod of Seasons more tightly.

At first, the arguing voices seemed to come from nowhere. Then the flames in each corner flared so suddenly that even Farore flinched. The flames took on the shapes of young women in flowing dresses. They would have been pretty, except for the fact that their faces were contorted in anger. The women's bodies departed from the flames, leaving them completely white and impossible to tell apart, except for their eyes, which were the same color as their respective fire.

"Summer!" Din cried, delighted. "Spring! Winter! Autumn!"

The Spirits paid no attention. "It is impossible!" the one with dark blue eyes cried.

"Winter, I am telling you what I saw!" the girl with green eyes hissed. "It is possible!"

"Well, what you saw is different than what I saw, Spring!" retorted the one with amber eyes.

"Everyone sees something different!" Spring argued.

"I saw nothing," Winter pointed out.

"Your frost clouds your vision, quite obviously!" Spring said rather nastily.

"Stop!" Din shouted over the hubbub. The Spirits died down and turned, looking at Din with angry eyes.

"What is it?" snapped the girl with deep red eyes.

"Autumn, what are you arguing about?" Din asked.

"Spring thinks she saw something," the amber-eyed girl grumbled. "I saw something too, but it was the outline of Princess Zelda."

"I'm telling you, I saw the witches," Spring protested.

"Your eyes deceive you!" the amber-eyed girl shouted. "This is a time of peace."

"Peace will end," Spring countered.

"Summer!" Din moaned. "You're making it worse!"

"Oh, I'm making it worse," Summer mocked. "It's not me who's making doomsday predictions!"

"Hot-head," Spring grumbled.

"Bud-brain!" Summer shot back.

"Enough," Winter commanded. "Din, we are sorry. We do not want to fight, but there is something in the air. Please stay safe."

The other Seasons murmured in disgruntled agreement.

Nayru blinked. For Din to stay strong in front of all that power was quite admirable. She herself would have run from the mere miasma of energy gathered in the Temple.

"Please do not fight," Din pleaded, holding out the Rod of Seasons. "You are creating discord among the lands. Something is going to happen, like Spring saw. Nayru and Farore have felt it." She glanced behind her at the other Oracles. Nayru nodded, as did Farore.

"The Rod must be enlivened," Din announced. "Please bless it with your power."

Nayru and Farore instinctively took a step back as the Seasons circled Din, moving faster and faster until they were a blur. A pillar of light pitched into the ceiling, growing brighter and brighter until the remaining Oracles had to cover their eyes. Then it suddenly died down. Din bowed, and the Spirits, still glaring at each other, returned to their respective flames. The braziers flared and were simply fire once more.

Din walked towards her friends. Nayru noticed the Rod's wood was gleaming, as if recently varnished. It seemed to give off a light of its own.

"We are done here," Din said quietly. Nayru could easily see that he encounter had shaken her. "Let us go home and figure out what has happened."

"That wasn't normal, was it?" Nayru asked.

Din shook her head. "The Spirits are normally quite kind and gentle. They gather monthly for a crystal reading in the Ground of None, and even though they usually leave a bit disquieted, it's never escalated to a full argument before. A few disputes are normal, but not like this."

"Well, whatever happened might relate to what's been happening recently," Farore pointed out.

Nayru plucked the Harp's strings thoughtfully. "Trouble returns to our soil," she murmured. "Curses return to the innocent. The blood-depraved walk the earth once more. We must do something."

Din stared at Nayru. "I forgot how slightly creepy you could be."

Nayru pouted playfully. "Excuse me- did you say only slightly creepy?"

"Stop messing around, guys, this is serious," Farore said. "Something is going on, and I want to know what it is. I say you guys stay at the Maku Tree tonight."

"There's no reason to do that," Din said. "We haven't actually seen the threat, only felt it."

"She has a point," Nayru amended. "If we all stay together, it's less likely we will be attacked."

By now they had reached the portal, but they did not know it. Nayru didn't even see it until she walked right onto it.

"I know it seems silly, but my gut… Hey, where'd you go?" Nayru said, confused. The world had suddenly fuzzed out of view and fuzzed back into view. She was back in the bush hollow in the Maku Tree.

"…Nayr- Whoa…" Farore appeared, knocking Nayru over. The Harp flew from her grasp and skidded out of sight. "Sorry," Farore said sheepishly.

Immediately a horrible feeling swept over Nayru. "You're about to be sorrier," she muttered, scrambling out of the hollow.

Her heart sank. "Farore! Din!" she shouted. "I see the threat, and it's not pretty!"

Farore and Din rushed out of the hollow. "Oh, no…" Din said in disbelief.


	4. Battle Atop the Maku Tree

Power

Din thought the day would not be able to get any worse. Now she knew better.

The massive green dragon, Aquamentus, snorted before them. It glared down at the Oracles, red eyes filled with contempt. Its thick green horn sprouted on top of its forehead, jutting two feet in the air. It scraped at the ground with its claws, ripping up the grass.

Din spied the Harp of Ages partly covered by one massive paw. "It's got the Harp!" she cried. She pulled something she had grabbed from her trunk out, the Bow of Seasons, an ancient gift from Power.

Nayru pulled out her Claw, which looked disturbingly violent next to her delicate form. Farore drew her Blade, looking fierce.

"Link fought it before," Din shouted as the three Oracles got in the best area for fighting. Farore ran up close, wielding her blade. Nayru drew back, and Din retreated behind her. "I don't remember its weak point, just hit it!"

Farore slashed at the monster's chest. "It's not dying!" she called. "I think I made it angry!"

Angry it was. Aquamentus snorted, its hot breath blowing Farore's ponytail backwards. It lifted the paw holding down the Harp of Ages, but before Farore could swipe it, the monster batted her aside like a cat with a ball of yarn. Farore tumbled through the air before she landed with a hard thump close to the edge. The beast blew a stream of fire, with Nayru rolled out of the way to dodge.

"Weapons won't help much if we don't know what we're aiming for!" she yelled.

Din shot an arrow. It hit the monster's snout with a harsh clatter and dropped harmlessly to the ground. She bit her lip, remembering what Link had once said to her: "Even a simple boss is difficult if you don't know what to do."

"We're looking at it the wrong way!" she shouted. "We need more time."

"That, I can do," Nayru said, "but I need the Harp."

Din noticed Farore had stood. She looked shaky, but as agile as ever. She was sneaking towards Aquamentus as quietly as she could. Din shot another arrow, hoping to distract the monster.

It worked. Because Din was hidden, the monster looked around, confused, for the source of the arrow.

Nayru somehow understood what to do. She shot her Claw at the monsters snout. Even if the snout wasn't its weak point, it certainly dealt Aquamentus a bout of pain. It squealed in anger, lifting its paw up in rage, which was exactly what Farore had wanted.

Din saw what Farore was doing as brave and incredibly stupid. She watched as Farore dove under the monster's paw, grabbing the Harp of Ages. Nayru instantly dropped the Claw, which retracted up to the dragon's nose. Farore threw the Harp like a Frisbee, which Nayru, surprisingly, caught.

At this point Aquamentus had noticed Farore. It began to bring his paw down.

"Nayru!" Din screamed. "Hurry!"

Nayru fumbled with the Harp for a second before striking a quick chord. Aquamentus froze, its claws an inch from Farore's head. She crawled out from under it quickly. Then Nayru began to play a soft tune that sounded like running water. Her image blurred slightly as she dipped into the timestream.

"Phew," Farore breathed. "That was close."

"Time will only stay stopped as long as this song goes," Nayru warned, still playing, "and it doesn't last very long at all. Find its weak point."

Din lowered her Bow and joined Farore. "Link once told me that every monster's weak point stands out from the rest of its body."

Farore gazed at the monster thoughtfully. "Mmm. Puzzles aren't my strong suit."

"They aren't mine, either," Din said. She bit her lip.

Farore rapped the beast's scales. "This thing's body is harder than steel. No wonder my sword didn't cut it." She bent to examine its feet. "And those claws look razor sharp," she added.

"There has to be a weak point somewhere," Din said, feeling desperate.

"I don't see one," Farore said, sounding disappointed.

Din listened to Nayru's song and realized it was winding down. They were running out of time. A crazy idea struck her- just mad enough to work. "When time starts again, climb on top of its head."

Farore stared at Din. "Are you crazy?"

"Just do it!"

Nayru plucked the final note. Aquamentus's paw came down in an earth-shattering blow to the ground. It roared in anger when it did not find flat Farore underneath it.

Din retreated while Farore brandished her sword. "Distract it!" she called.

"Can do!" Din replied, shooting another arrow that glistened icy blue. As soon as it touched Aquamentus, a thin sheet of ice began to spread over the monster's scales. The monster shrieked, surprised, and Farore was able to jump onto its tail.

It was only seconds later when the last of the ice melted in the hot summer heat. Aquamentus noticed Farore on its tail and began swinging back its tail back and forth in an attempt to shake her free.

Farore hung on for dear life. "Stop-mo-ving!" she yelled, slowly making her way up Aquamentus's tail and back. Before long, she pulled herself up on the beast's neck, and the monster roared in fury.

"The horn is his weak point!" Din shouted. "Just stab it!"

"Why didn't you just shoot an arrow at it?" Farore screamed, drawing her sword.

"It's rather nice watching you do dumb things," Din replied, finally shooting an arrow. The last one had been from Winter- this one was blessed by Spring, a powerful arrow made from strong young oak. It sunk dead-center into Aquamentus's horn, and the monster screeched in honest pain for the first time.

"Din, you're so mean!" Nayru laughed, shooting her Claw at Aquamentus's horn. The beast complained again.

"I know where you sleep," Farore muttered. Somehow she'd managed to balance on Aquamentus's neck. She drove her sword straight down the horn, slicing it in half. Black blood spurted everywhere as the beast screamed in agony and slumped.

Nayru looked down at her dress, which now looked like someone had thrown an ink pot at her. "Ewww…"

"We can't let him get loose," Din said, pulling out the Rod of Seasons. "O Spirit Winter, bring forth frost and snow that cannot melt," she intoned, waving the Rod in the air.

An enormous snowball poofed into existence above the dragon and dropped on top of it. Aquamentus moaned in pain.

Farore (who had, of course, hopped off the monster) opened the Tome of Secrets. "Shadi wyrl retirma qat!" she said, holding out a golden feather (which had apparently come from the book). "With these sacred words of forgotten languages, I return you to the Shades! Be gone!"

With a howl of disdain, Aquamentus's form darkened into a shadow, then simply dissolved, snow and all.

Farore clapped the book shut with satisfaction. "It's been a while since I've gotten to use that," she said happily.

Nayru looked shaken. "How did it get here? Why was it here? What does this mean?"

Din shrugged, slipping the Bow and Rod on her back. "Looks like something bad is happening. I want to find out what, and fast."

Farore nodded. "You guys should stay here tonight. That way, if something does strike, we won't have to face it alone. Safety in numbers, you know?"

Nayru nodded with approval. "That would be very wise."

Farore shrugged modestly.

Din sighed. And I had been so looking forward to that picnic tomorrow… "I'll send a letter to the Ringmaster," she said grudgingly.

"You won't have to," Farore pointed out. "The whole circus troupe vanished, remember?"

Din scowled. "Don't remind me. Let's go back inside." She started down the ladder. Farore and Nayru had no choice but to follow.


	5. Nightmares in Dreamland

Wisdom

Nayru hooked the sheer blue satin across her doorway. "Don't bother me!" she called.

"Uh-huh," Farore said next door, buried deep in a story. She had a similar satin sheet across her doorway, except hers was green.

"We won't," Din called earnestly. She also had sheer satin across her doorway, but hers was red. "Um, if something crashes, it's me."

Nayru sighed. The three Oracles had already changed for bed, but they would all stay up late anyway. Din would probably practice her dancing until she was worn out, and Farore would read her book until her candle burned down to a stub.

Nayru, on the other hand, would stay up worrying. The most serious of the three Oracles, Nayru could see the hidden side of most situations, which was why she was the Oracle of Ages, the Deity of Wisdom.

She told herself there was no reason to worry. The three Treasures, which she knew as well as the other two Oracles, were locked away safely in the Maku Vault, an enchanted hollow deep in the labyrinthine roots of the Maku Tree. The Rod, Tome, and Harp were protected by so many enchantments it would take an army of warlocks to get through. The Oracles themselves were protected by the Maku Tree's magic and their own. Impa had already left to inform Princess Zelda of their plight. Everything should have been fine.

And yet…

She felt unease. No, she felt dread. Something was not right, and she did not know what it was.

She glanced out her knothole- the Maku equivalent of a window- in frustration. Something caught her eye.

The night was pitch-black. Not only were clouds covering the stars, but it was a new moon. The two shadows slipping through other shadows were nearly impossible to distinguish from the darkness around them, but Nayru saw them because they emanated evil, which shone with a black light wherever it went. To her, the two beings stood out as if it were broad daylight.

Nayru reeled backwards. "Din! Farore!" she yelled. "Someone is here!"

A loud thump sounded in another room, followed by two pairs of running feet. Din appeared, limping slightly, behind Farore, who was still holding her book.

"What is it?" Din asked, peering through the knothole. "What did you see?"

"Can't you see it?" Nayru cried. "Two beings simply oozing evil power!"

Farore stared into the night. "I see nothing."

"Neither do I," Din admitted. "Are you sure you saw something, Nayru?"

"I'm positive," Nayru hissed. "There are two creatures outside who are bent on attacking us!"

"You're tired, 'Ru," Farore said, yawning. "We all are. Go to bed."

"Don't call me that!" Nayru snapped.

Din put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Nayru, whatever you saw is probably gone now. It's nothing to worry about. Let's go to bed, and tomorrow we'll figure out what to do. Okay?"

"Yeah," Farore said. "We'll do it when the time is 'Nay!' Ha-ha, get it?"

"I forgot how hyper she gets," Nayru groaned.

"Rei, go!" Din ordered, using Farore's nickname. "Go to bed, okay?"

"Fine," Farore yawned. "See you in the morning." She headed back to her room.

"Relax," Din told Nayru. "You're being pretty uptight. You need sleep. We all do." With that, Din walked out of Nayru's room.

"I hope you're right," Nayru muttered, climbing into bed. She blew out her candle and crawled under the blanket. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.

_Wisdom_

_She dreamed of her Shrines._

_Each Oracle had two Shrines she had to find. She knew in her heart where they were, but would still have to face peril to find it. Once found, more of the Oracle's power was unlocked. Din was the only one who had ever found one of her Shrines (even though it was called the Temple of Seasons), which was why she was the most powerful of the three._

_Nayru had never found her Shrines. Yet here she stood, in front of a building, half-buried in a swirling, windy desert. Somehow she knew._

_The Shrine of Ages._

_The scene changed, now she was deep in a forest, so deep that she might never find her way back._

_Suddenly she walked out into a clearing. Overgrown from disuse, it was, but the Greek-like building stood tall and proud nonetheless. The Wisdom symbol was so bright and blue it seemed to have been painted the day before._

_The Shrine of Wisdom._

_Nayru was filled with a sense of satisfaction she hadn't felt in a long time. She knew the general locations of her two Shrines; now she just had to find them. One was in a desert, the other deep in the woods. Filled with joy, she sat down on a nearby stump and began to play the Harp of Ages, which had appeared in her hand._

_Lively music filled the air. It seemed to conjure a wind, which swept gaily through the tree branches._

_In her hands, the Harp of Ages crumbled to dust._

_Nayru screamed._

_Courage_

_She dreamed of her jealousy._

_Farore found herself inside a building where an open book symbol flashed again and again as she wandered the depths. But she could not find the exit so she could see her surroundings._

_She knew where she was, of course. She was in the Shrine of Secrets._

_As the Deity of Courage, Farore was entrusted with the secrets of the most difficult Shrines to find. Every Shrine was placed for the specific Oracle. Nayru, being the Deity of Wisdom, would solve puzzles in order to find hers. Din, being the Deity of Power, would defeat monsters and overcome obstacles with controlled force to find her final Shrine._

_Farore, however, was a different story. She would need to brave not only danger, but dark forest paths, murky swamps, and icy mountains. She would need to be brave enough to walk into a forest that she knew she might never find her way out of._

_The Shrines of Secrets and Courage were so well veiled, however, that Farore had not been able to find them after years of searching._

_The walls around her changed. Instead of cream-colored architecture, Farore now found herself walking among earthy tunnels and mossy floors. "This is the Shrine of Courage?" she murmured skeptically._

_Her doubts vanished as she entered a massive, round stone chamber that seemed to have its own light source. A huge stone disc with the symbol of Courage carved into it winked at her._

_Farore pulled out the Tome of Secrets and began to flip to the section about the Shrine of Courage._

_The Tome of Secrets burst into flames._

_Farore screamed._

_Power_

_She dreamed of Link._

_It was obviously no secret she liked him. She wouldn't have been surprised if Nayru had been harboring a secret crush for him too. He was such a strong swordsman, so loyal to his friends…_

_She found him walking casually through the halls of a place she'd never seen before, the Rod of Seasons in hand._

"_Link!" Din cried, running towards him. "What are you doing here?"_

_Link simply smiled. "This is your second Shrine," he said, twirling the Rod._

_Din looked around. The symbol of Power flashed everywhere. She had finally found the Shrine of Power._

"_Oh, Link, thank you!" she said, hugging him._

"_You will never find it," he whispered in her ear._

"_Link?" Din murmured, confused. She tried to get out of the hug, but he would not let her go._

"_The land will shatter. Princess Zelda will die by your hand," he continued._

"_Stop it," Din said shakily._

"_Do you really believe your little toys can best the powers of darkness? Come now, Oracle, you know better than that."_

_Link- Rod of Seasons and all- melted in her arms._

_Din screamed._


	6. Broken

Power

Din woke up. "Just a dream," she breathed. "It was all just a dream."

Her chest was suddenly wrought with ferocious pain. Din doubled over, clenching her fist until she drew blood. Just like that, it was suddenly over. She could not shake the feeling something bad had happened, so she climbed out of bed, lit the lamp, and hurried down the hall.

Wisdom

"Agh!" Nayru cried as the sharp pain took over her torso. She clenched her teeth as tears of pain beaded her eyes. Then it was over.

"What on earth?" she muttered. "This is too strange." She noticed a light in the corridor. Not one to be left out, Nayru lit her lamp and met up with Din.

Courage

Farore heaved as the pain left her heart. "That was weird," she wheezed.

"You're telling me," Din said from the hallway. "Grab your lamp, Rei."

Farore hopped up and shook her loose hair from her eyes. When she took it out of their buns, her hair flowed down to her waist. She smoothed out the green T-shirt and shorts she was wearing, lit her lamp, and joined her two friends.

Nayru and Din looked frazzled. Din looked pale in her red spaghetti-strap top and tiny shorts, and Nayru looked worried in her flowing nightgown that went down to her ankles.

Din pushed a lock of loose red hair out of her face. "Something strange happened. Did you guys just feel something painful in your chests?"

Nayru and Farore nodded.

"Then I'm not imagining it. Let's go check on the Treasures."

"Nothing could have happened to them," Nayru said quite unconvincingly. "They've been locked in the Maku Vault."

"Oh, so the sudden heart attack didn't mean anything," Farore said sarcastically. "Open your eyes, Ru! Peace can't live forever."

"Farore!" Din said sharply.

"It's true," Farore muttered.

Nayru sighed. "She's right," she admitted. "I thought peace would last a little longer than six months, though."

"That would be nice," Din agreed. She brushed the curtain aside that covered the door to the Root Maze. "Stay close," she warned. "You know how easy it is to get lost in here."

"I should be leading," Farore objected. "I'm the one that stays here more than anyone."

"Don't whine, Farore," Din snapped. Farore had never seen her so stressed and mean.

"Din, Rei has a point," Nayru said meekly.

"Fine," Din hissed. Then she covered her face with a hand. "I'm sorry- I had a really bad dream."

"Me too," chorused Farore and Nayru.

The three Oracles looked at each other suspiciously. "What'd you dream about?" Din asked Nayru.

Nayru colored in the dim lamplight. "I'd… rather not say."

"You dreamt of your Shrines," Farore said suddenly.

Nayru's thin eyebrows arced upward in surprise. "How did you know?"

"I dreamt of the same thing," Farore said, her heart suddenly sinking. "And I had my Treasure with me, and it burst into flames…"

"Mine crumbled to dust," Nayru mumbled.

"And mine melted," Din said, darting into the Maze.

"Din! Wait!" Farore shouted, following her. "Take a left!" She heard Nayru rushing to keep up.

Din stopped so suddenly that Farore nearly ran her over. Nayru ran into Farore, and the three Oracles fell in a heap. (The three lamps, luckily, landed without torching the Maku Tree's roots.)

"Why'd you stop?" Farore moaned.

"I'd like to know the same thing," Nayru grunted.

"Get off me. We're here already," Din said, wriggling to get out from under Farore and Nayru.

Nayru got up and helped Farore stand. Din stood and picked up her lamp. Sure enough, the massive wall that shimmered slightly loomed before them.

"Th-that's impossible," Nayru stammered. "The Maku Vault is at the heart of a latticework of roots and false passages. How did we get here so fast?"

"I brought you here," a feminine voice rumbled.

Farore looked around. "Mai!"

"Something happened," rumbled Mai (which was the female Maku Tree's name). "I led you directly here so you would not stumble about the Maze."

Din, Farore, and Nayru bowed. "Thank you," they said together.

Farore walked towards the hazy wall and touched the center with the Vault Key- a small, thin stick with a sphere on each end. One half was made from the wood of Mai, the other half the wood of Kul (the Maku Tree in Holodrum). It opened both Vaults in both Trees.

The moment the Key touched the wall, a web of sparks spread out from where Farore had touched it. "Whoops, wrong side," she said, twirling the Key and touching the wall lightly with the other side. This time the wall shimmered like a mirage and parted like a curtain.

Nayru's knees buckled. Din gasped. Farore screamed.

The three Treasures of the Goddesses lay before them in tatters. The Rod of Seasons had been snapped in two, the four Seasons Symbols defaced by scores of scratches. The Harp of Ages' strings were severed, rendering it useless.

Farore stepped into the Vault. She looked down; scorch marks on the floor. She looked at the Tome of Secrets- a now-crispy mess of charred pages and melted leather.

Din and Nayru stepped into the Vault, each picking up the remains of their most precious object. "The magic is gone," Din murmured, running her hand over the splintered wood.

Nayru nodded mournfully. "It's just a hunk of wood."

Farore opened the Tome carefully; the leather was still warm and runny. She closed it quickly. "The pages have been reduced to ashes."

"We are in so much trouble," Din breathed.

"Trouble? Are you joking?" Nayru snapped. "The only things connecting the Goddesses to the material world have been destroyed! Pulverized!"

"How do we fix them? That's the question we should be asking," Farore pointed out.

"There is no way," Nayru said in a monotone. "No way at all. The land will deteriorate now that the Goddesses really are gone."

"Don't say that," Din said, sounding shocked. "We'll figure something out."

The three Oracles were silent for several moments, until Farore said, "Guess we're the Triforce of failure."

"Hm?" Din squeaked, before realization dawned on her face. "Farore, you're a genius!"

"I am?" Farore said.

"She is?" Nayru said at the same time.

"Hey!" Farore protested.

"You're acting like children!" Din hissed. "Farore gave me an idea. The only ones who can repair the Treasures are the Goddesses."

"But they've left this world," Nayru said, confused. "There's nothing left of them in Holodrum or Labrynna-"

"But the Temple of Time in Hyrule," Farore said, it now dawning on her, "has a door to the Sacred Realm!"

"Where the Triforce is concealed," Din said triumphantly.

"And that's the crystallization of the Goddesses' power itself," Nayru said excitedly.

"So it's connected!" Farore completed. "All we have to do is access the Sacred Realm, and then we can contact the Goddesses, and then-"

"Wait," Din interrupted. "We'll need permission to get into the Sacred Realm."

"Yeah," Nayru agreed, seeing Din's point. "From Princess Zelda."

"We shouldn't worry her," Farore added.

"Or worse," Din shivered. "We could be stripped of our titles of Oracles. I don't know about you guys, but I really don't want that to happen."

"So what?" Nayru demanded. "We break into the Sacred Realm? Are you insane?"

"We can't open it without the Ocarina of Time and the three Spiritual Stones, though," Farore pointed out.

Nayru buried her face in her hands. "Please tell me you're not insinuating what I think you're insinuating."

Din nodded grimly. "We'll have to steal them." Somehow saying the idea out loud made it even worse.

"Can we discuss this in the morning?" Farore yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm still tired."

Din nodded in agreement. "Let's meet in the Oracle Sanctum to discuss our options. For now, let's rest."

Farore looked around. "Um, Mai, could you let us out of here?"

Hope

A guard ran forward. "Your Majesty, a tattered traveler has arrived at the castle. She claims it is of an urgent matter."

"Is it another beggar?" she said offhandedly. "Give her a few coins and escort her away."

"Yes, but… her necklace." The guard sounded uncertain.

"What of it?" she said distractedly. She had far more important matters to think about than a hapless beggar.

"It's a golden charm depicting the royal family's seal," the guard reported. "Your name is on the back."

She gasped. "Bring her in immediately."

The throne room doors burst open. She gasped. The woman staggered in, smeared with her own blood, gaping wounds clear and obvious on her flesh.

"Impa," she cried, "what happened?"

"Attacked," Impa breathed. "Th-the Oracles… they're in danger. Mortal danger."

She turned towards the messenger at her side. "You- find Link and bring him here immediately." The messenger nodded and ran off. She looked towards the guards. "Bring her to the nurse and see that she is tended to." The two guards bowed solemnly and guided the woman through another door.

She stood and walked to her own chambers. She pulled a tapestry aside; behind it were three golden silhouettes inlaid in the stone like a triangle. A rod took the top, a harp the left, and a book the right.

She touched each image in turn.

She felt nothing.


	7. Decisions, Decisions

Power

Din woke.

She was surprised she had slept at all that night. Yet here she was, a mere few hours later, well rested and waking with the rising sun. She spent a few minutes watching the golden disc inch its way into the sky as she brushed her hair out. Then she climbed out of bed, changed into a pink shirt and pink capris, tied her hair up, slipped her shoes on, and ran to the Oracle Sanctum.

The Sanctum was the final area of protection if the Maku Tree came under attack. It was a single, round chamber with only one doorway and dozens of magical wards and enchantments laid upon it.

Din entered with no trouble. Nayru and Farore were waiting for her.

"So what are we going to do?" Nayru asked.

"We have no choice," Din admitted. "The only ones who can repair the Treasures are the Goddesses, and the only way to contact the Goddesses is by entering the Sacred Realm."

"You left out the part where we steal the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time," Farore said bluntly.

"Well, we'll have to do that too," Din replied. "Not to mention traveling- Hyrule's a long way from here."

"We'll need to buy horses or something," Nayru put in. "Or maybe enchanted brooms."

"I'll stick with the horses," Farore said, eating a blueberry. "Magical items don't usually work with me."

"Speaking of magical items, how will we protect ourselves magically?" Nayru asked.

Din was ready for that one. "Easy- I bet you can sing all the Tunes of Ages, Ru."

Nayru nodded. "Yes… and I have the music written down somewhere."

"And you've probably memorized plenty of useful spells and legends," Din said to Farore.

Farore nodded as well. "You forgot secrets, and I know some pretty interesting ones." She grinned. "Did you know Mido of the Kokiri has a rash on his-"

"And as I demonstrated at the show yesterday, I can control the seasons with dance," Din interrupted quickly.

"But we won't be half as strong without the Treasures," Nayru observed.

"Well, that's where our weapons come in handy," Din explained. "I've got the Bow, and Farore has the Blade. You have the Claw and Spear, right?"

Nayru nodded. "Right."

"No fair," Farore whined. "Why does she get two weapons?"

"She's the least powerful of us," Farore pointed out. "Our weapons can be used on horseback, which we'll most likely be doing. Can you picture Nayru using the Claw on horseback?"

"No," Farore admitted, "but I don't see her using the Spear on horseback either."

Nayru threw a strawberry at Farore.

"Ow!"

"You're acting like children," Din said sternly. "Break it up." The other two Oracles ceased their fighting and looked at Din expectantly. "We're in agreement that we must go to Hyrule, correct?" They nodded. "Then I suggest we pack up, go into town, and get horses and provisions. Okay?"

"Yes," Nayru said, standing.

"Got ya!" Farore said, hopping up.

"Let's get ready, then," Din said. "Meet in the lobby in fifteen minutes." The Oracles went their separate ways.

Wisdom

Nayru opened the small, silver box. A small, dark blue stone sat upon a bed of velvet.

She knew it would be incredibly important for finding her Shrines. The stone, which sparkled in the light, went by many names: The Stone of Ages, of Downpours, of Wisdom, and of Love.

Nayru had no idea why she would need it, but she liked the Stone anyway. It was cool to the touch, smooth, and fairly pretty. She closed the small box and dropped it in her Leafsatchel. Then she threw in a hairbrush, some extra changes of clothes, and, most importantly, the remnants of the Harp of Ages in a silken bag. She dug through the many papers on her desk and found her sheet music of the Tunes of Time and put those in, too. She closed the Leafsatchel, slung it over her shoulder, and took one last look at her room before leaving. She had a bad feeling that she wouldn't see it again for a very long time.

Courage

Farore tossed the misshaped rock in the air a few times. What was so special about the dumb thing? It looked like a booger the size of a marble, if the marble had been chipped in several places. It was covered in ridiculous brown spots and ugly brown streaks. Definitely a booger. But it was apparently crucial to finding her Shrines, which she wanted to do. The Stone of Secrets/Terra Firma/Wind/Courage would have to come along for the ride.

Farore sighed and stuck it back in its box before throwing it into her Leafsatchel. Each Oracle had been given one, and Farore had to admit it was one of the coolest things she owned. She could fit a hundred Gorons inside and it wouldn't even be crowded.

Farore picked up the box and bag containing the two parts of the Tome of Secrets- a thin, flat box containing the leather cover, and a bag holding all the ash she could salvage. She carefully placed both in her Leafsatchel.

"Now, what to bring?" she murmured, looking at her endless shelves of books. Two shelves were dedicated to copying out from the Tome (for the pages of the Tome changed quite often, and Farore had to quickly write out the secrets and legends before they disappeared), and she needed to decide which ones to bring. The top shelf were all the legends, the lower shelf the secrets. In the end, she decided to take them all, since they would obviously fit.

Of course, some of the legends she snuck in were purely for enjoyment, but nobody would know that.

Power

Din closed the lid on the capsule-shaped Stone of Seasons. Or Burning Embers. Or Fire (which was basically the same thing). Or Power. The orangey stone looked like a tiny egg about to hatch, with red lines criss-crossing the Stone's surface. She set the stone in her Leafsatchel along with several changes of clothes, not to mention small charts for her dances. The Rod of Seasons went in next, which Din had reverently placed in the wooden box she had received it in.

Din herself was not so sure about the plan. Getting the three Spiritual Stones would be fairly easy, but getting the Ocarina of Time would not. Hyrule Castle was crawling with guards, who were up all hours of the night. Never mind the fact that Princess Zelda never let the Ocarina leave her side.

Din tugged on the strings of the Leafsatchel, closing it. She slipped it on to her back and groaned. However this whole thing turned out, it wasn't going to be pretty.

Hero

He attacked another tree. "How's that?" he grinned, panting.

His uncle shook his head. "Look at that rough cut!" he snapped, running his fingers over the splintery wood. "I will never be able to make decent firewood out of this. Your blade has dulled. Face it: you must take it to the blacksmith."

He pulled a face. "But Uncle-!"

"No arguing! Go to the blacksmith and get that blade sharpened so we'll have some firewood."

"But it doesn't need to be sharpened," he tried.

"Doesn't need to be sharpened?" his uncle chortled. "It may be the Sword of Evil's Bane, boy, but every sword will need sharpening at some point in its life!"

"But the blacksmith will mess it up," the boy said feebly as a last resort.

"If that sword's as good as you say it is, I don't think any old blacksmith will be able to distort the spell," the uncle said.

The boy nodded. "Fine, I will go get it sharpened."

His uncle winked. "Stubborn as an ox, just like your father was!"

A man wearing a blue tunic bearing the royal family's seal was waiting at the front of the house. "Is this the home of the Hero of Time?" he asked.

"Yes, that is me," he replied.

"You have been summoned to the castle by Her Majesty's request," the man reported. "She said the matter is urgent."

"I'm just going into town," he explained. "I just need to drop my sword off at the blacksmith."

The man bowed. "If it speeds your arrival, sir, the royal blacksmith will take your sword when we return to the castle."

"All right, just let me grab my bag," he said. He ran into his house and grabbed his Dekusack from years past- his secret to carrying all of his items. He slung it onto his back, slung his shield over the sack, and ran out to meet the messenger.

"Did you come on a horse?" he asked.

"Yes," the messenger replied, gesturing to the black stallion tethered to a nearby tree.

"Excellent. Epona!" he whistled. His warm brown mare trotted out of the pasture. He saddled, as did the messenger, and they galloped on to Castle Town.


	8. SHOPPING!

Courage

Farore arrived in the lobby just as the others did, They took once last inventory of their items (each had brought as many rupees as they could possibly carry) and set out, waving goodbye to Mai as the left the grove for the last time.

The town of Lynna was not very far, and the three Oracles split up to buy the things they would need. Din left to get food, Nayru hunted down things like arrows and bandages, and Farore was left to seek maps.

For some strange reason, there was not one vendor that actually sold maps. Farore searched with increasing frustration until it was clear she had as much chance of finding a map in Lynna as she did living in Subrosia full-time. It was, essentially, hopeless.

"Excuuuuse me!" a voice said from above. Farore looked up to see a… she blinked and rubbed her eyes. Was she seeing this right? A very short man in a creepy green suit (with red underwear, no less) was floating above her… using a red balloon that seemed to be coming out of his back. "Get me down, someone please get me down!"

Unwilling to leave the strange man alone, Farore hunted on the ground until she found a sharp rock, which she hurled at the balloon. It shot straight through the balloon, sending the weird man jittering to the ground in front of her.

"Oh, thank you… hmm?" the man said, looking at her, head tilted. "You are familiar. You are Oracle, right?" he said, pounding his tiny fist onto his tiny palm.

"Yeah," Farore said carefully. "I'm an Oracle."

"Oh, I am Tingle!" the man said ecstatically. "Tingle is trying to be a fairy by doing good deeds. Just recently, Tingle gave a fairy boy a satchel of seeds. See, Tingle is a good person!"

"Okay then," Farore said, trying to be nice.

"Tingle will help Miss Oracle too," Tingle said happily.

"Well, to be honest, I need some maps," Farore admitted. "I'm going on a journey."

"Tingle is a map salesman!" Tingle squealed, pulling out several maps. "What does Miss Oracle want?"

"Well, I need a map of Labrynna, a map of Hyrule, and a map of the land in-between," Farore explained.

"You are lucky!" Tingle cried happily, opening a map he had selected from the bunch. "Tingle has a map of all three areas on one piece of parchment! See?" He showed Farore the map; sure enough, there was Hyrule in the upper right corner, Labrynna in the lower left corner, and a wide space in the middle that was marked "Pirogga Plan."

"It's a good map, but I need more detailed ones," Farore said.

"Tingle has those too," Tingle shrugged, picking three maps. There was a full map of Labrynna (marked with the towns and separate provinces, and even the locations of all the Mystic Trees), a map of Pirogga Plain, and a map of the entire country of Hyrule, including the Lost Woods, Lake Hylia, and, of course, Castle Town, complete with Hyrule Castle.

"Perfect," Farore said. "I'll take these three."

"Fifty rupees for each-" Tingle began.

"That's ex-" Farore began to protest.

"-they'd normally be, but for Miss Oracle I will cut the price in half," Tingle finished.

"-pensive," Farore finished lamely, pulling out seventy-five rupees. "Here. Now give me the maps!"

Tingle handed Farore the maps. "Tingle has done a good deed," Tingle beamed. "Now Tingle is closer to being a fairy. Goodbye, Miss Oracle!" A second balloon inflated out of nowhere, and Tingle sailed into the air.

"Well, that was weird," Farore muttered, stowing the maps away in her Leafsatchel. She headed back to the heart of the market.

She almost walked past Din haggling on food. "Look, the price says four rupees for a pound of salted meat," she said, exasperated. "I want twenty pounds, and that comes to eighty rupees."

"The price says what I want it to say," the greasy market vendor replied smartly. "And I say its ten rupees a pound. So pay me two hundred rupees."

"That's a lie!" Din shouted. "I can read Hyrulean. Did an Octorok shoot at you?"

"Did someone fry your brain with Ember Seeds?" the vendor retorted.

Farore stepped forward, sword out. "Now, now, I'm sure we can all settle this peacefully," she said.

Din looked at the sword in mild alarm. "Farore, did you even clean that since yesterday?"

"Didn't have time," Farore replied. "Now, how about you split the difference? Six rupees a pound. That comes to one hundred and twenty."

The vendor eyed the blade with a mix of disgust (at the dried greenish stuff on it) and fear. "Fine," he snapped. "You give me a hundred twenty rupees, I'll forget this ever happened."

Din paid the man, who handed over several waxy bags, which Din promptly dropped in her Leafsatchel. The two Oracles left to find Nayru.

"What else did you buy?" Farore asked.

"I got…" Din said, checking her Leafsatchel. "Bread, fruit, several gallons of water, and a few canteens."

"Good choices," Farore approved. Din nodded.

"Hey, guys," Nayru said, walking out of the crowd. "Did you hear all that yelling earlier? What was that about?"

"Just some idiot haggling over market prices," Farore answered matter-of-factly. Din glared at her.

"What'd you get?" Din asked.

"There was a sale on arrows, so I bought a hundred of 'em," Nayru began. "I also got a few nice magical items to help on our way, like a compass that leads directly to water or to game. I got a few guidebooks on the regions we'll be crossing, and a few other things." She smiled mysteriously, pulling something out of her Leafsatchel. "Oh, this is for you, Farore."

Farore tore off the wrapping. "The latest book in the Myradia series! Thanks, Ru!"

"You're welcome," Nayru said cheerfully. "I thought you'd like it."

"Well, we have everything," Din said. "Let's go!"


	9. Ambush

Wisdom

They set out, encountering Octoroks as soon as they left the border of the town. There were simple to defeat, causing no trouble for the Oracles. Other creatures were just as simple to deal with. The three Oracles spent the better part of the day traveling across the many different landscapes of Labrynna. At sunset, however, they were faced with a difficulty.

Across a river a half-mile wide lay the road to the first section of Pirogga Plain. The problem was that there was no bridge.

"Now what?" Farore asked when they had refilled their canteens.

"I have no idea," admitted Din. "There has to be some way to get across- we just don't see it."

"Too bad we can't breathe underwater," Farore muttered.

"We can't swim across," Nayru observed. "The current's much too fast- we'd be swept away."

"What other magic items did you get, Ru?" Din asked. "Any Silsand or something?"

"They were out of stock," Nayru said apologetically.

"Any Ilice?"

"There wasn't any of that either."

"There has to be something," Din fumed. "We're the Oracles, for Wisdom's sake!"

"Duh," Farore said. "Din, dance."

"What?" Din said, confused.

"Of course!" Nayru said, her face lighting up. "Waltz of the Frost!"

"I haven't done that in a long time," Din said, digging in her Leafsatchel, "but I brought all the dance charts I could. Ah, here it is!" She drew out her arm (which had been buried up to the shoulder) clutching a few dozen scrolls. "It's one of these…" she said, rolling and unrolling scrolls.

"What's Waltz of the Frost?" Farore asked.

"When Din was given the Rod of Seasons, she was also blessed with power to control the seasons," Nayru explained. "She channels the power through dance. Waltz of the Frost is one of those dances. Wherever she steps when she finishes the first part of the waltz, ice spreads from there. All she has to do is dance across the river."

"I'll be a little thin, though," Din warned, unrolling a scroll. "And in this heat, it's bound to melt quickly, so as soon as you can, run across."

"Understood," Nayru said.

"Here it is!" Din scanned the parchment before letting it roll up again. She put everything back in her Leafsatchel and slung it on her back. Then, she began to dance.

Din slid along the ground, humming a tune. She stayed low to the ground in a crouch, extending her legs when she needed to perform a certain move.

"What's she doing?" Farore whispered.

"She's imitating the water cycle," Nayru explained. "Just watch-"

She pointed. Din had begun slowly pulling her body up, as if she was being tugged by an invisible force.

"That's the movement of invisible water traveling upwards," Nayru said. "Then they gather together to make a cloud and fall down again as snowflakes."

"I thought it was Waltz of the Frost, not Waltz of the Snowflakes," Farore said, confused.

"Ah, but you need snow for cold," Nayru pointed out. "And you need cold for ice."

Din continued to spin, slowly straightening out as she did so. She twirled on one foot several times before she raised her arms to the sky.

Farore shivered. "Is it just me, or did the temperature drop twenty degrees?"

Nayru breathed out. A ghostly cloud gathered in front of her face. "It's working," she said excitedly.

Din began to crumple up like she had before, but this time she kept spinning as she did so and repeated the action many times. She began to leave patches of white frost wherever she stepped. Finally, she twirled in the direction of the river. The moment she stepped on it, ice blossomed out from her feet, spreading quickly.

Farore began walking forward, but Nayru held her back. "Wait until she's reached the other side," she warned.

Sure enough, Din spun back to the riverbank when she was halfway across the river before spinning back again. It wasn't long (but longer than Nayru had expected) before she was on the other side and continued to spin.

"Let's go," Nayru said urgently, standing up. "She can only hold the ice for so long."

Farore followed after her as Nayru stepped tentatively on the ice. It held, and she began sprinting for the other side. The distance between them and Din grew shorter and shorter. Farore soon passed Nayru, who was not as athletic.

Din stopped spinning and lifted her arms in the air. The ice began to crack.

"Come on!" Farore yelled, speeding up.

Nayru tried to speed up, but she could not. She was a singer, a musician. Most certainly she was not a runner. The cracks spiderwebbed even further.

Din dropped her arms. Farore made a running leap and landed hard on the other side. She looked back. "Nayru!" she screamed in horror.

Nayru looked down as the ice she was standing on snapped in half. Nayru dropped into the water like a stone. Somehow she had gotten her mouth closed in time and swam blindly towards what she thought was the surface. The current tugged at her forcefully, pulling her downriver.

She broke the surface with a gasp. Her water-logged hair made it impossible to see. Her fingers brushed what felt like a stone, so she grabbed it and held onto it. Luckily it was a stone, and not a territorial Zora.

"Nayru!" Din shouted. Her friend's voice sounded faint. "Are you okay?"

Nayru managed to brush the hair from her eyes without losing her grip on the rock. "I'm fine," she called. "Just get me out of here!"

"We will!" Farore said encouragingly. "We'll find a branch or something!"

Nayru could now see just how far she had been swept downriver. Her friends were about a hundred yards away, which wasn't too bad, considering the current. It could have been worse.

It wasn't long before Farore found an exceptionally long branch and slowly fed it across the river. "You'll have to take a leap of faith!" Din shouted. "We can't get it any closer!"

Nayru eyed the branch uncertainly. Farore was leaning as far as she could over the riverbank, with Din holding her in case she fell. That made the branch's final destination about three feet away from Nayru, and it was impossible to get any further because a sheer cliff face extended upwards just next to Din and Farore. If she didn't time her jump and angle herself properly, she'd be swept down the waterfall.

The things I get into… she reflected grimly. Nayru scrabbled around the rock, trying to get the angle just right, let the current carry her just so…

She flung herself towards the branch and just barely caught the end of it.

Din and Farore let out a cheer.

Nayru grinned with relief. Now all she had to do was climb up the branch to safety.

BAM! Nayru suddenly found herself holding nothing more than a smoky end of the branch while she was swept backwards. She slammed into a rock just in time and scrambled on top of it.

A Zora glared at her from twenty yards away. "No intruders!" it hissed before it let loose another laser beam. Nayru jumped to another rock, nearly losing her balance. She watched as the other rock was pulverized.

"Crap!" Din cried. "What are we going to do now?"

"No intruders!" the Zora said again. It fired another laser beam at Nayru, who jumped onto another rock.

"I-I don't know!" Farore stammered. "What do you suggest?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Guys!" Nayru screamed as she hopped to yet another rock. "Now is not the time!" With a chill, she realized all the closest rocks were either deep underwater or blasted to smithereens. "Not good."

"What's not good?" Din said, looking around. "Oh, no…"

The Zora destroyed the rock. Nayru fell into the water and tumbled over the waterfall. The Zora grunted in satisfaction and sank once more beneath the river's unforgiving currents.

Power

Din and Farore did not stop running until they were sure the river was far behind them.

Farore kept crying. "Why did we leave Ru behind?" she sobbed.

"We didn't have a choice," Din said regrettably. "I saw more Zoras waiting in the river. If we got in the water, we'd be dead by now."

"But we abandoned her," Farore cried. "We're the worst friends ever, Din."

"Rei," Din said softly, putting an arm around Farore, "do you think Ru would want us to kill ourselves or finish our quest?"

"Now we only have two Treasures," Farore pointed out, wiping her eyes with a leaf she plucked from a bush. "We've lost an Oracle. What'll we do?"

"Let's follow the river," Din decided, "and see if we can find her body. We'll get her Leafsatchel, too, so we'll get the Harp."

Farore sniffed, and Din felt a pang of regret. Din hated being leader sometimes; she had to make difficult decisions that could possibly end with leaving one Oracle behind. It was never easy, but she had accepted the position when she had accepted the Rod of Seasons. The Oracle of Seasons, the Deity of Power, was always the one in command.

The two Oracles followed the river, running down the hilly landscape and fighting off wild beasts that attacked them. Finally, they reached the bottom of the waterfall.

Din ran forward. At the bottom of the waterfall was a small sanctuary where the water slowed and lapped lazily against the shore. It was a shocking contrast to the river above. The water continued flowing down another steep dive, which cut into a tunnel in the rock and twisted out of sight.

Din checked to make sure she was right; if Nayru had gone off the waterfall, she would be floating in the lake near the shore, yet she saw nothing. She looked frantically until she spotted a patch of blue the same color as Nayru's dress. "Nayru-"

She began wading into the water and stopped.

The blue was a strip of fabric that had been ripped from her dress.

Nayru was gone.

Hope

She was already on her throne when he arrived.

"Link," she sighed with relief. "Thank you for coming so quickly."

Link bowed. "How could I ignore a message from Her Majesty?" he said slyly. "Sorry- Princess Zelda."

Princess Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Thank you for remembering. To business, then." She shooed away the guards, stood up, and walked down the platform to where Link stood. "Impa came earlier soaked in her own blood. She was attacked when she reached the border of Hyrule. The Oracles are in danger."

Link's face dropped. "Oh no."

"It gets worse," Princess Zelda continued grimly. "I have three golden templates of the Treasures inlaid on my wall. I connected them to the real Treasures so I can check in on them at any time. The connection is broken."

"How is that possible?" Link asked incredulously.

Zelda managed a wry smile, despite the seriousness of the situation. "It's only possible if the Treasures have been completely and utterly destroyed."

Link gasped. "Then… the Goddesses…"

Zelda nodded. "Their final ties to this world are severed."

"The land will crumble. We have to do something," Link protested.

"Not so fast," Zelda cautioned. "Something attacked Impa, remember? This means Hyrule is being quarantined. No one will get out…"

"Or in," Link completed. "There has to be a way. There just has to be."

"The Oracles are in danger," Zelda explained. "Will you please go get them and try to bring them to Hyrule?"

Link nodded grimly. "Yes…"

A guard knocked on the door. "Enter," Zelda said, returning to her throne.

The man walked in. "Pardon me, Princess, but Seer Kyli has found something she wants you to see."

Despair

She left the Zora with a smile. "Target destroyed," she murmured into the crystal. "She went down the waterfall. Didn't have a chance."

"Idiot!" a raspy, wizened voice said on the other line. Her voice tinkled slightly, like a hundred icicles clinking against each other.

"Yes," an identical voice hissed, "We told you to bring back her head." This voice was slightly more throaty, as if a fire was burning in the back of her throat.

"No need," she protested. "Nobody could possibly survive a fifty-foot drop down a waterfall. If the impact didn't kill her, she'll be dashed by the rocks."

"Have you forgotten she is the Oracle of Ages, the Deity of Wisdom? Have you forgotten she is the Muse of Water? She holds the Stone of Downpours!" the one with the icy voice snapped. "We did not Restore you for nothing!"

She nodded, although the two on the other line could not see her. "Yes, Mistresses. I will go down and make sure, and I will bring you back her severed head!"

She tucked the crystal in her breast (there was nowhere else for her to store it) and continued on, unseen, to the waterfall. She was going to enjoy this very much. The Oracle of Ages had caused her much humiliation the first time.

This time, Veran would not let her win.


	10. A Town Full of Information

Courage

Some Deity of Courage she turned out to be!

Farore wiped her tears away from her eyes, but it was no use- more tears replaced them.

Din looked straight ahead, obviously struggling not to show emotion. "We should stop for the night," she said. "Come on."

It wasn't long before they found a patch where the grass grew over their heads with a clearing in the center. It would provide good shelter, Farore noted through her misery. You could hear your enemy coming, but they couldn't see you until the last minute. She rolled out the first blanket she had packed and sat down on it.

"This sucks," she said.

"I know," Din agreed. "We've gotta keep going. And we're not going anywhere without a good night's sleep." She lay down on her own blanket and pulled a second blanket on top of herself to keep herself warm. Farore did the same, rather grudgingly, and dropped off to sleep.

Only seconds later, a green-gold glow tickled the edge of her eyelids. She sat up, annoyed, and opened her eyes.

A beautiful girl, about seventeen, floated in the air before her. She had long, ivy-green hair that cascaded down her back and touched the back of her thighs. She wore a tight green tank top that looked like it had been woven from several different leaves of varying shades of green. Her pants hugged her thighs and flared out from her knees down. Her feet were hidden in petal-like shoes. Tendrils of ivy snaked around her arm. She blinked with emerald green eyes.

Oh, and her skin was honey-colored.

Farore blinked sleepily. "Who're you?" she mumbled.

The girl smiled. "I'm you," she said simply. "My name is Farore."

Farore didn't get it. "What are you, me from another dimension?"

The girl's shoulders jolted, as if she were trying to keep in a laugh. "Not exactly. I'm not really you… I count on you to keep me here."

Farore stared at her blankly.

"It's okay to cry," the girl said. "Especially when you think what you think now."

"I don't cry," Farore snapped. This girl was weird. "Why would I? I'm the Oracle of Secrets, the Deity of Courage."

"Exactly," the girl said cheerfully. "You are the Deity of Courage. I am you."

It finally dawned on her. "Fa…ro…re?" she said slowly.

"Well, you call me Courage," the girl smiled.

"But… but…" Farore sputtered. "How are you here?"

"There is but one thing that still connects me to this world," Courage explained. "The Stone. And only barely."

"What stone?" Farore said, confused. "You mean the booger-rock?"

Courage sighed, pressing a hand to her face. "You cannot be this dense. Look, the Stone isn't enough, and its power is dying. You need to find the-"

Her image suddenly fuzzed.

"Courage?" Farore said urgently. "What do I need to find?"

Courage sighed as she came back into focus. "I can't speak any longer. The Triforce is the strongest link. Hurry! You can do it. I chose you for a reason…"

She faded away, and Farore woke up as the sun rose.

Hero

Link reached the edge of Hyrule Field. A little further and he would cross into Pirogga Plain. From there, it wouldn't be too far on Epona to get to Labrynna. He started forward, eager for a new adventure.

Epona suddenly reared back, obviously frightened. Link fought to stay on, looking around for whatever had startled his horse. He saw nothing, yet something with very sharp claws tore him off Epona, sending him flying to the ground.

He got up a bit shakily, drawing the Master Sword. He looked around, looking for whatever hit him.

It attacked again, from behind, but he saw nothing. An invisible enemy?

When the concealed creature finally had enough of playing with Link, it threw the battered boy aside like a crumpled piece of paper. Shaken to the bone, Link scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could. Whatever that… thing was, he did not want to run into it again.

Power

Din woke up and found Farore already packed and chewing on some of the salted meat. "You're up early," she observed.

Farore opened her mouth, about to say something, but she apparently thought better and closed her mouth.

"What happened?" Din asked.

"Oh, nothing," Farore said, looking off into the distance.

Din laughed. "For the Oracle of Secrets, you're a terrible liar. What happened?"

"Nothing," Farore repeated, looking Din in the eye. "Nothing happened, okay?"

Din wondered what was so important that had to be hidden. "Fine," she said. "Nothing happened."

Farore handed Din a piece of meat. She accepted it and chewed thoughtfully.

"We should keep going," Farore said. "Hyrule's a long way off."

Din stared at her.

"What?" she said, offended.

"You were a crying mess last night," Din said. "What happened to you?"

"I came to my senses," Farore muttered. "Besides, crying isn't going to solve anything. So let's get to Hyrule and maybe our mission won't be a total waste of time, right?"

Din nodded with approval. "Excellent idea." She packed up quickly, and the two Oracles began the long trek across Pirogga Plain.

They came to an eventual stop at a nearby village around high noon. The sign they read upon entering read Lolvia Village. While Farore stocked up on supplies, Din asked around to find out about nearby regions.

"The Woods of the Deep are just west of here," one man said. "But it's a bad idea to go inside."

"Why's that?" Din asked.

"It's impossible to find your way out," the man explained. "Somewhere in the heart of the forest lies the race of the Regulas. They look like humans, but with wings!"

A race of over-sized fairies, Din guessed. The next man she spoke to had information about the mountain range in the east, the largest being King's Peak.

"There's said to be a temple at the tip of King's Peak," the man explained, "but it's guarded by terrible monsters! It's no place for a lady to go."

"I can take care of myself," Din replied sharply.

She spoke to a woman next, who was quite helpful in explaining where the river went.

"The river feeds into a lake northwest of here, called Dyloki Lake," she told Din. "It's rumored it has an underwater passage to a lake in the nearby kingdom."

Lake Hylia, it would seem. Din joined Farore at the local bar and told her what she had found.

"Hyrule is directly north of the Plain," Farore explained, showing her an updated map. "Check it out- this one even has that underwater passage mapped out."

Sure enough, Din could see a thin blue line leading away from Dyloki Lake and off the map in the direction of Lake Hylia.

"Now these Regula don't sound too worrisome," Farore went on. "However, I did some digging in one of the Tome volumes I brought, and it says that Regulans are very territorial, but they can grant any wish- for a price, of course."

Din nodded, impressed. Farore was well known for her amazing research skills. "Anything else?" she asked.

"Not much," Farore admitted. "I couldn't find anything on that temple up on King's Peak. Do you think it could be a Shrine?"

"Maybe," Din sighed. "It's possible."

"We'll look into it, then," Farore said, rolling up the map and closing the book. She dropped them both in her Leafsatchel. "We should stay the night, I guess. It's nearly nightfall anyway."

"Agreed," Din nodded.

Courage

Farore woke up only when Din shook her awake. She'd been up late the night before, sketching in one of the blank scrolls she'd bought. She only fell asleep when she realized she was sketching Courage over and over.

"What are these?" Din asked, rolling through the sketches.

"Not important," Farore said, feeling her face grow hot. She grabbed the scroll and dropped in the bottomless pit of her Leafsatchel.

The two Oracles bathed quickly and dressed so as not to look out of place among the villagers to keep the questions at a minimum- there had been quite a stir the day before when two girls wearing shorts had come to town. Instead, Din wore a pink dress that went down to her knees, and Farore wore what she usually did- a green dress with a blue apron-like covering.

"I hate this," Din complained as they left the inn. "I don't like the feeling of my bare legs. It makes me feel exposed. I like pants better."

"Keep your skirt on," Farore scolded. "At least put up with it until we're a good distance from the village. Then you can change." She handed Din a bandana, who took it and tied her hair back. "I want to find out a few more things, and then we can leave."


	11. Love Resurfaced

Power

The two Oracles left the inn. Din followed Farore around town while Farore spoke to villagers and found out more than Din had, such as how the channel out of Dyloki Lake was created in a localized earthquake about a week before. Another told the location of the guardian tree of the region- called the Kamiku Oak, in the Forest of the Deep. It apparently watched over the land, and, more importantly, the people in it.

Din was quite impressed. She was fine with people, but Farore knew exactly what to say and how to say it in order to get what she wanted.

"How did you do that?" she asked as they neared the edge of the village.

Farore shrugged. "I just do it. I think it comes with being the Oracle of Secrets- I'm good with getting secrets from anything, including people, you know?"

Din nodded. She could see the hidden side of things, though not too well, but she could see that Farore's ability to find secrets would come in handy for finding Shrines or puzzles in dungeons. She made a mental note about it; it would be handy later, she was sure.

Two men blocked the village gate. "Little ladies shouldn't go out right now," one chided. "Pretty dangerous out in the big world."

"We're tougher than we look," Farore said calmly. "Want to challenge that?"

"Naw," the second man chuckled. "But nobody leaves without payin' the toll."

Din sized up the two. They looked strong- all brawn and no brains. Their chances didn't look good.

Farore didn't blink an eye. "What's the toll?" she said calmly. Din was amazed how unfazed she seemed.

"Well, it depends," the first man grunted. "What're you willing to pay with?"

Din noticed the second man staring at her. Oh, shoot, she thought, reaching for a Deku nut. Not good.

Farore cocked her head, looking the man straight in the eye. "Cash. How much?"

"We weren't thinkin' cash," the second man replied deviously.

Farore pulled out five purple rupees. "Will this do?"

The two men's eyes nearly bulged out of their heads. Din wanted to strangle her companion. What was she thinking, giving them that much money?

"Deal," the first man decided, swiping the rupees out of Farore's palm. "But next time, you won't be so lucky."

"We aren't returning," Farore said, passing the two men by. Din followed, moving as fast as she could.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Din turned on Farore. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "Are you insane? You gave away a fortune!"

Farore winked. "I got it back, too," she said, opening her hand. There lay ten purple rupees.

Din looked at the rupees, then at Farore, then at the men, then back at the rupees. "How?" she gaped.

Farore grinned. "The Tome holds more secrets than you think. He wasn't paying much attention, either, and that always helps." She pocketed the money. "Anyway, I want to check out the Regulas, so let's go."

Hope

Princess Zelda carefully mounted her horse, Jasmine. She was preparing to go for a ride around the castle's track. Despite the worry she felt, she still needed to exercise her horse.

Link rode in on Epona. Zelda looked up in surprise; Link had loosely wrapped his torso and one arm with bandages, and his face was scratched. He looked like he had just rolled in the mud.

"What happened to you?" Zelda asked as Epona trotted up alongside Jasmine.

"I was attacked by an invisible creature," Link panted.

Zelda laughed. "I know you've brought some far-fetched tales, but that is ridiculous."

Link glared at her. "Do you want to come with me to test the theory? Look at his." He pulled the loose bandages off his arm, exposing ugly marks that looked as though something had attempted to scoop his flesh out of his arm.

"That looks painful," Zelda commented.

"I couldn't see it at all," Link said, sounding shaken. "Not even with the Lens of Truth."

"That's unusual," Zelda agreed. "That… that shouldn't even be possible. Nothing escapes the Lens of Truth."

"That's what I thought," Link explained. "But I can't see them at all. There's no way across the border."

A hooded figure appeared in the path. They did not move. Jasmine and Epona slowed to a stop, and their riders dismounted.

"Kyli." Zelda's voice was full of annoyance. "What do you want now?"

"You never came to my hut," the figure replied. She had a very young voice- possibly only a few years older than Zelda herself.

"I can't leave the castle," Zelda explained. Maybe Kyli would give up and leave.

"Well, I did bring my crystal lotus," Kyli said brightly. She removed her hood, revealing wavy, raven-black hair and fiery red eyes that gave her a startling appearance. "Please, come. You will need to see this."

Zelda sighed. "Alright." She signaled a guard to come and take care of the horses as she followed Kyli to the small space the guards had allowed her to set up.

Courage

Farore and Din continued across the Plain, heading west to the Woods of the Deep. Farore kept searching through the Tome volumes, hoping for a scrap of information that would prove useful. Pirogga Plain was far larger than Hyrule Field or any of the fields in Labrynna and Holodrum, so by nightfall they were not much closer to the Woods of the Deep or how to get through them.

"Nothing," Farore snarled, slamming the Tome volume shut. "Absolutely nothing."

"Don't get down," Din encouraged. "There has to be something on how to get through the Woods."

"There's nothing in the Secret Tomes!" Farore insisted. "Plenty on how scary the Woods are, but nothing on how to go through them!"

"Try the Legend Tomes," Din suggested. "Perhaps there's a legend that explains things."

The ground suddenly trembled. Clods of dirt flew everywhere as something erupted from the ground. Two empty sockets stared at the Oracles.

"A Stalchild?" Farore guessed.

The creature rose fully from the ground, towering a good two feet over the Oracles. It had the appearance of the Stalchildren normally seen in Hyrule at night, but this one appeared to be one grown up.

"Stalman," Din whispered.

"I'll take care of it," Farore said confidently, drawing the Blade.

Two more Stalmen rose from the ground.

"…Or we can run," Farore decided.

"Agreed," Din said, already running. She knew that where one Stalchild stood, many more lurked, and she assumed the same applied to Stalmen.

"Din, stop running!" Farore shouted suddenly, panic-stricken. She knew that when you ran, Stalchildren simply multiplied. She assumed the same applied to Stalmen.

Sure enough, four more Stalmen rose out of the ground in front of Din. She skidded to a stop. The seven skeleton-like beings surrounded the Oracles, permanent leers carved onto their faces.

"Now what?" Din hissed, the two Oracles back-to-back. She had taken out the Bow, but was obviously unsure of whether it would work well in close quarters.

"If we fight, they multiply," Farore murmured. "If we run, they multiply. I like their kids better- at least they don't multiply when you run." She batted away a Stalman who was coming too close. "Shoo!"

"They hate the sun, don't they?" Din asked. "That's why they only come out at night."

"Very true," Farore agreed. "We need light. Enough to trick them into thinking it's the sun." But where could she get that much light? She knew no spells to summon anything of the kind.

"No," Din said thoughtfully, kicking away a Stalman. "They simply hate light." She dug into her Leafsatchel until she found her lantern and lit it.

It worked instantly. The Stalmen shied away like spooked horses, hissing in anger and pain.

Farore pulled out her own lantern and lit it, and the two Oracles ran for cover.

Extinction

His lip curled in disgust; as usual, his minions proved fruitless with their efforts. They had not captured the Oracles. He assumed the sheer numbers would have scared them, but they simply fought them off with lanterns. Ridiculous. The Mistresses would not be pleased with this.

He moved as little as possible, trying to keep his armor from clattering. The two Oracles were easy to see with their lanterns lit, easier to track at night than in daytime. Still, he had to stay as far away as he could risk so the Oracle of Seasons could not sense him.

He enjoyed the hunt; it was one of the joys of reliving. It was far more interesting than sinking the Shrine of Seasons, although that had bore fruit; the Oracle now had to travel to Subrosia to visit, a huge inconvenience for her. She would have to return to the Shrine at some point, he knew, to pray for the coming of fall. She could not stay in Hyrule forever.

"I do not give up easily," he murmured to himself, watching Din's silhouette. "I will have you, Oracle of Seasons. You will suffer."

Onox set off once again in pursuit of his prey.

Hero

Link sat down next to Princess Zelda, on a plush stool. Princess Zelda folded her arms. It was clear that she did not believe Kyli was a real Seer, or at least did not trust Kyli's predictions.

Kyli, a pale, raven-haired beauty with piercing red eyes, placed a frosted crystal carved in the shape of a lotus on a velvet-covered round table. Link noticed part of her cape was strapped onto her arms and the rest hung down on the other side. She was clad in a simple blue dress with silver trim. The room was illuminated with uneven candles that had clearly not been used in a long time.

"Where's your sister?" Zelda asked.

Kyli looked up from her preparations. "She is not available," she replied. "Out of town."

"She can't be out of town. Hyrule's been-" Link started to say, but a glare from Zelda cut him off.

"I am here, and not my sister," Kyli said a bit more forcefully.

"I'd rather her," Zelda muttered.

"Who's her sister?" Link asked, curious.

"Her name is Rika," Zelda explained. "She's Kyli's younger sister, and she," she emphasized, glaring at the young woman, "unlike the sister in front of us, actually has the Sight."

"I have the Sight as well!" Kyli snapped. "My sister's is simply more… prominent." She picked up an olive branch and shook it gently over the lotus. The lotus began to glow.

Zelda's eyes widened. "This is not usual with Kyli." Her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute…" She leaned forward and blew.

Kyli scowled as the lotus flickered and went out. She had apparently slipped a candle into the lotus and surreptitiously lit it.

"Where's Rika?" Zelda asked. "You're all smoke and mirrors. If you have nothing real, we're done here." She stood. "Come, Link."

As Link turned to leave, a thud alerted him. He turned to see Kyli writhing on the floor.

Power

The next morning, Din woke to see Farore had solved both mysteries of the Woods of the Deep. It now made sense why she kept lagging behind in Labrynna.

"Pegasus Seeds," she explained, dropping wing-shaped seeds in front of Din. "Not only do they make good snacks when they're cooked, they also enhance your speed when eaten raw."

"Great," Din said. "That makes it a lot easier to get to the Woods."

"We have plenty seeds to get there," Farore said, "and we should have some left over for later."

Din nodded, impressed. "You get anything else?"

Farore winked. "I'll tell you when we get to the Woods of the Deep. I think I found the way through."

"That's… that's awesome," Din stammered. Farore kept surprising her at every turn. The last time Din had seen Farore, which had been about a year ago, she had been more like a child than anything else. Now, here she was, accepting responsibility before it was handed to her. It was like looking at a different person.

"Well, let's pack up and go," Din decided. Although Farore had done her research, the small camp was still a mess. Remnants of last night's campfire were strewn around the fire pit they had dug out. The lamps lay on their side, the wicks deeply submerged in oil.

A few minutes later, the clutter cleaned, the lamps righted and stored, and the fire pit filled, they faced the far-off Woods of the Deep.

Farore handed Din a Pegasus Seed. Din popped it into her mouth as Farore was saying, "Before you eat it, you might like to know-"

Din gagged and nearly spat the seed out.

"-the raw seed tastes terrible," Farore concluded, slipping her own seed into her mouth and swallowing it.

Din swallowed her own with difficulty. "That tasted like rancid Lon Lon milk mixed with rotten cucco eggs!"

"Well, we'll be eating more," Farore said grimly, shooting off into the distance. Din caught up with her, but only because Farore slowed down. The Pegasus Seeds worked faster than Din had expected.

"Why can't we eat them cooked for the same result?" Din asked a few minutes later when the Seeds wore off. She couldn't even see the campsite anymore, but the Woods of the Deep were much closer than they were before.

"When you cook any type of magical Seed, it loses power," Farore explained, taking a swig from her canteen. "It really stinks. Ember Seeds taste like hot coals, but they do give you the power to breathe fire."

"What other seeds are there?" Din asked. She'd been too busy on tour with the troupe to check out the local flora in the land.

"There are Scent Seeds, which enhances your nose for a while but tastes like moldy bread," Farore said after a moment's thought, "then there are Mystery Seeds."

"What do those taste like?" Din asked.

Farore shrugged. "It's different every time, and so are the abilities. Gale Seeds don't taste like anything, but they rocket around your mouth before you can swallow them and jump in your stomach when you do."

"Aren't Gale Seeds and Pegasus Seeds the same?" Din asked.

Farore shook her head. "Gale Seeds let you teleport anywhere. Pegasus Seeds make you faster." She handed Din another Pegasus Seed. Din grimaced and swallowed it. Farore ate hers, and the two Oracles sped off towards the Woods of the Deep.

Water

She swam further down than any Zora had before. She wanted to know every inch of this lake ever since that earthquake had hit, and she did not plan on leaving anything out.

There! An anomaly- a hidden underwater tunnel that came in from the south. It spewed freshwater that was cold enough to be from a river. Even she struggled against the strong current. She had to see where it led, so she could know what to put on the new map.

Something soft and cold suddenly came barreling towards her, throwing her off course and sending her spiraling back into Lake Hylia.

"Ow!" she gurgled. "What is this thing?" She took a good look, back in the light and not in the dim tunnel. Then she screamed.

A few Zoras came swimming over. "Princess Ruto?" they asked. "What's the matter?"

Ruto looked over. "Get the medic," she ordered, "now." She swam towards the surface as fast as she could.


	12. Visions and Legends

Hope

Princess Zelda peered over at Kyli's prone, writhing form, unimpressed. "I think she's faking it," she said uncertainly.

Kyli opened her eyes. They shone black, like a human head with a skull's eye sockets.

"Yes, Princess, she's faking it," Link said sarcastically as he knelt next to the not-so-fake Seer.

The door banged open. Zelda whirled in surprise.

The intruder was a tanned girl, wearing a green dress with golden trim and a white cloak. She had wavy blonde hair and scanned the room with intelligent emerald eyes. In fact, she looked almost the polar opposite of Kyli.

"Seer Rika!" Zelda cried, bowing lightly. "Your sister… she's acting rather strange."

"Princess Zelda," Rika said, curtsying. "I'm sorry I didn't notify you of my arrival, but when I saw Kyli had taken my crystal lotus…" She shook her head in dismay. "She does have a touch of the Sight, but not enough to call herself a Seer."

"So what's wrong with her?" Link asked.

Rika shrugged, letting her cloak fall from her shoulders; it was strapped to her arms in the same manner as her sister's. "I do not know. Perhaps she is having a vision."

Kyli let out a moan that was neither animal nor human. Then she sat up, the black fading from her eyes. She was drenched in a cold sweat, and she panted heavily.

Rika knelt by her sister's side. "Kyli, are you alright?"

Kyli swallowed and nodded. "I was in a dark room… and I saw it lit by two black flames… and a voice whispered to me, 'Extinction and Despair burn once more…'"

Rika frowned. "Extinction and Despair…"

Zelda felt the final few pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and the picture staring back at her scared her more than anything.

Courage

Three nauseating Pegasus Seeds later, Farore and Din stood panting at the edge of the Woods of the Deep. Farore's stomach was in revolt, and she was afraid to eat anything else at the moment- especially beans.

Din appeared to feel the same way, turning a slight shade of green. "Ugh," she muttered.

"Totally," Farore agreed.

"So how are we going to get through?"

Farore grinned, pulling a Tome volume out of her Leafsatchel. "I was up late reading last night-"

"Big surprise," Din muttered.

"-and I found an old legend," Farore finished, flipping to the right page. "I won't go into any details, but it's pretty much about travelers from Hyrule crossing to Holodrum, and they entered a forest hoping it would go faster."

"And did it work?" Din asked.

Farore shook her head, skimming the page. "Actually, they got so lost they got to Holodrum about three months behind schedule. But that's not the point. The point is, the legend describes the forest as being more like a huge labyrinth than anything else. That fits with what we were told in the town."

Din nodded, looking curious.

"The men on the journey kept running towards the lighter passages, hoping for a way out, but just ended up getting more and more lost. So that means we have to stay away from the passages with light."

"Wonderful," Din said sarcastically.

"It says the men eventually found their way out, but it doesn't say why," Farore concluded, showing the book to Din. "There's more- look carefully at the map of the forest. Look familiar?"

Din checked the map of Pirogga Plain against the map in the book. "They're the same," she said with surprise. "The region around the forest is the same as the map."

"Most legends aren't legends," Farore explained, closing the book. "The things that happen are usually real, but not all of it. It takes an experienced eye to spot the real from the fantasy. The best thing about this legend is that it also says the men, by finding the right path, met with a huge group of… the book calls them 'butterfly-people.' Those are probably the Regulas."

"Well, let's go," Din said.

"According to my research, the path we have to take is the darkest and creepiest-looking." Farore grinned. "That sounds awesome."

Din glared at her companion. "So it's just a test of courage."

"Yep," Farore said to herself. "A test of Courage." She looked up, wondering if Courage was watching right now. Could this possibly be the location of one of her Shrines? Dark paths for only the brave to follow… it seemed to fit.

"Well, no use dawdling," Din said, facing the forest. "Let's go inside."

Hero

"It makes no sense," Link protested yet again.

"It makes perfect sense," Princess Zelda snapped. "Flames of Despair and Extinction… where have we heard that before?"

Link sighed. "I suppose it fits with the Treasures disappearing and all, but-"

"But what?" Zelda interrupted, pacing her chamber again. "There is no but. Somehow, Onox and Veran have resurfaced- and this time they're working together."

"No," Link said stubbornly. "I beat them once before. I can beat them again."

"Don't get cocky," Zelda warned. "We don't even know how they're alive."

"It must be Twinrova again," Link growled. "Those stupid Gerudo witches always ruin everything!" Everything fell on him, as usual.

"Koume and Kotake have been watched carefully," Zelda said uncertainly. "The only way to revive Onox and Veran would be to Restore them, and such a spell would require a huge outburst of magical energy. We would have detected that."

"Like you detected this?" Link growled, flashing his wounded arm. Zelda was a great queen, but sometimes she missed what was directly in front of her.

"The thing that caused that just happened to be invisible," Zelda protested.

"And it still is!" Link shouted. "I'm going to investigate." He turned around. Everything fell on him at some point, and he would gladly take on the duty of a hero once again if it meant the safety of Hyrule.

"D-don't you dare turn your back on me!" Zelda squeaked, flushing.

"Try me," Link muttered, slamming the door shut behind him.

Courage

"Which one?" Din asked.

"Hmmm… that one." Farore pointed towards the path least-followed, and for good reason. Vines choked the trees, and the trees themselves were so dense only the smallest fraction of sunlight managed to squeeze through the leaves.

Din sighed. This was the fourth clearing they had come to, and it was clearly wearing on her nerves.

"Come on," Farore said, tugging on Din's sleeve. "You never changed out of that dress," she noted.

"No time," Din murmured.

"Well, let's keep moving. We can't go back the way we came," Farore urged.

Din nodded. "You're right… I just wish it wasn't so creepy."

Farore led the way down the path. A bat flew in front of them. Din bit her lip to keep from screaming. Her skin looked white in the lantern's flame.

Farore was getting a little worried. She was used to this sort of thing; many things were stored in the Mazes beneath Mai and Kul. Din was not, and though she tried hard not to show it, she was nearing the end of her rope. "Hey," she said, trying to comfort her companion, "according to the legend, the men only walked through seven times. We're almost out."

Din closed her eyes and took Farore's outstretched hand. "C-can you read the l-legend again?" she asked meekly.

Farore blinked in shock. Din never stuttered. Ever. Din was the powerful Oracle of Seasons, the only one to successfully find one of her Shrines, the unofficial leader of the Oracles. People like that didn't stutter. If Din was stuttering, she had to be really scared.

Farore pulled the Tome book out of her Leafsatchel and opened it to the right page. She glanced behind her at Din, concerned. "Are you alright?"

Din shook her head.

Spirit

She wiped her brow and readied her scimitar. "Come at me again!" she taunted.

Her opponent brushed her long hair out of her amber eyes and narrowed them in concentration. Her double blades flashed in the hot sun.

She struck. Her arms were a blur, but to her surprise, her red-haired attacker went on the defensive, blocking her attacks and ducking under her swords to deliver a sweeping kick to her still feet.

But she was much better than that. When the attacker shot her foot out, ducking under the steel of her blades, she used the sand to her advantage and swept to the side. Her opponent tried to regain her balance, but the shifting sand that had helped her simply hindered her assailant.

She was not done yet. The attacker still had her swords. She was about to deliver a sweeping horizontal blow to knock the swords from her grasp, when-

_NABOORU!_

Nabooru was so surprised she stumbled and landed face-first into the sand.

The red-dressed Gerudo burst into giggles. "I think I win," she said happily.

Nabooru wiped sand from her eyes. She recognized the voice- it was snotty Princess Ruto, the Sage of Water. "What?" she said aloud, rather scornfully.

Ruto sounded hurt, but Nabooru didn't care. _I__was__just__trying__to__get__your__attention__…_

_You__caught__me__at__a__bad__time,_ Nabooru replied. _I__was__training__my__soldiers._

_Sorry. Anyway, please come to Lake Hylia. Hurry!_

"Why?" This was spoken aloud. Nabooru alternated between thought-speech and normal speech, so some of the Gerudo tribe secretly thought she was crazy.

_You__'__ll__see__when__you__get__here,_ Ruto replied. She said nothing more.

Nabooru sighed. "Prissy little Zora," she grumbled, heading for the Field.

"Where are you going?" a Gerudo called.

"Out," Nabooru replied. "I'll be back later."

Inwardly, she was worried. She had a bad feeling Twinrova were behind this. Just to assure herself, she stopped by the prison before leaving.

The twin witches were deep in the belly of the Fortress, so far in that no light could permeate its depths. The maze-like interior and absence of torches made it all but impossible for any prisoners to escape.

Luckily, all the prison guards and Nabooru were well trained and could navigate the well-nicknamed "Chamber of Danger" with their eyes closed. She easily made her way to Twinrova's cell.

"Well, look, it's Ugly and Uglier," Nabooru smirked, leaning on the bars. "I thought I'd pay the guests of honor a visit before I went out."

Twinrova did not answer.

"Or is it guest right now?" Nabooru asked with fake cheeriness. Still no answer. "Hey, listen to me when I talk to you."

She was getting impatient. Grabbing a hidden torch, rock and flint from a fake stone, Nabooru lit the torch. "Alright, let's see your wrinkled faces," she muttered, blinking in the sudden glare. She shone the light on the prison…

And froze.

Koume and Kotake were gone.

Power

"'The men retrieved the scroll from its secret chamber,'" Farore read.

Din kept walking. They had gone through the fifth clearing, but Farore hadn't stopped reading. The legend was about a band of several men who were sent by the king on a quest to find an ancient spell, lost to the centuries. The men had heard about a shortcut through the woods, so they decided to go through that way.

"'However, two three-headed dragons blocked the only exit. Peripheron, the leader, soon defeated each dragon by reflecting each dragons' magic towards the other one. The men were quick with their escape, but, alas, a simple path home was not meant to be. The Sorceress Koumake released invisible creatures along the boundaries of the Plain, ensuring that the men could not hope to escape. However, the men found another way.

"'Peripheron remembered hearing the villagers speak of the Forest of Death, which was rumored to have paths that led to other forests. He and his brave band of men entered the Forest, but every new path they took led back to the way they had come. The situation seemed hopeless; for the men could not return the way they had entered the forest and could not move forward. The Forest of Death was about to claim Peripheron's life and the life of his men.

"'Finally, one man was driven mad by the monotonous journey and rushed down the darkest path. Peripheron and his men rushed after him, and they found themselves in a clearing they had not been in. Footsteps were visible in the darkest path from that clearing. At last, the men had unknowingly solved the puzzle. And so they traveled through the paths less traveled, through the most frightening ordeals any man had faced. They were rewarded with a meeting with mysterious butterfly people and safe passage home.'"

Farore finished. They had entered the seventh clearing, and the seventh pathway. A pinpoint of light was visible up ahead. She looked behind her at Din; her nails were digging into her arms. The legend hadn't helped at all: it had only made things worse.

"We're almost out," Farore said encouragingly. "It won't be long now."

Din slowly nodded and gave a strained smile. It wasn't the legend itself, which had served its purpose as a distraction. It was the forest. It was so disturbingly similar to the description in the story that it was if she was Peripheron, leading her followers to their doom. What if this was a fruitless quest? There was no way to know for certain, but if they didn't find the Regula on the other side of this path…

The path opened into an enormous clearing. Gigantic boulders were set in a circle. Only the ones furthest from the Oracles faced them, and the two girls could just make out what appeared to be doors and windows. The boulders were homes to something. Din noticed that each individual boulder was ringed in grass and flowers. All of the boulders were arranged so their openings were facing a central building, which was ancient-looking and looked like a tower with no door. Many fireflies buzzed through the cleaning lazily.

Suddenly Farore screamed, and she collapsed to her knees without warning.

Right

She tugged on the rope to make sure it was still strong. It was.

She pushed her hair behind her ear. If only the Oracles would hurry up already! Yes, the Woods of the Deep held a Shrine, but there was no time for it now! They needed to contact her and the others for more information. She had forgotten to tell her one slightly important thing…

The rope… it was still connected, which was good. It had to be connected, or else all of Hyrule would crumble into nothingness.

But the rope was fraying.

Hope

Princess Zelda slumped in her throne. Link was being far too obstinate to talk to right now. Kyli had been taken to the sick ward, and Rika was busy cleansing the crystal lotus after Kyli had tainted it with the candle. Zelda herself was utterly convinced that Onox and Veran had been reborn- she just didn't know how or why.

Hyrule had been cut off by invisible beasts that patrolled the borders. Why? What was so important to keep in… or out? Or was it who? Zelda was also positive that one of the Sages knew something, but Ruto, Nabooru, Saria, Darunia, Impa, and Rauru weren't answering her Call. It was as if they had disappeared. But what were they doing that was so important they would ignore Hope's Call or not bother Answering?

She frowned. Then there was the anomaly of the Treasures. They must have been destroyed… but how? And why hadn't any of the Oracles come forward? The second question's answer came after a moment: they couldn't get here because of the invisible creatures. They had sent their Impa as a messenger, and she hadn't recovered yet.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud, piercing scream.


	13. One Day Remaining

Courage

"Farore?" Din asked urgently. "What's wrong?"

Farore could only point numbly at the tower. She could now see it was actually an extremely thick, tall tree, with a single opening several hundred feet above the base. The bark was worn smooth as glass, reflecting the sun. It seemed about as wide as Hyrule Castle. It was definitely thicker than the Maku Trees.

What really caught Farore's eye, however, was the huge symbol carved into the base: a quill pen that was writing in a book that seemed to be fading from view. The symbol of the destroyed Tome of Secrets.

"Farore, I don't understand," Din said in a shaky voice.

"It's the Shrine of Secrets," Farore whispered in awe. "Don't you see?" She pointed at the symbol.

"Oh, my," Din whispered. "But… you don't have the Tome."

"I have the Blade," Farore pointed out. Then she noticed Din was gaping at something straight ahead. She turned back around.

What had been a desolate, void clearing only seconds before was now glowing. A mixture of colors emanated from the hundreds of figures that had appeared out of nowhere. On closer inspection, Farore realized they appeared human- except for the iridescent wings that billowed from their backs. The women all wore dresses woven from leaves, in many different styles. Some of the men wore leafy shirts, thought some went bare-chested. All of the men wore pants.

"Regula," Din whispered. "They're Regula."

The two Oracles watched, transfixed, as the Regula arranged themselves according to color, in the order of the rainbow. Once they were in a line, all the red Regula clasped hands and began circling the tower, always facing it, flying in an upward spiral. The orange Regula followed, then the yellow, then the green, all the way down to the violet.

A cry came from the chain. Six Regula men, all different shades of blue, flew down in an instant, brandishing spears. They circled the Oracles, forcing them to move tightly together, making a small circle with their spears. One of them growled an incomprehensible command. The two Oracles stared blankly.

"Let me through," a male voice snarled. The reddest Regula came flitting down, holding a scepter in one hand. A spear was strapped across his back one way, a sword the other. He shook his shaggy hair from his face. "Who are you who enters the Woods of the Deep and survive?" he demanded.

Din stayed rooted to the spot, so Farore took over. She bowed as low as she could without getting stabbed. "I am Farore, the Oracle of Secrets, Deity of Courage. This is my companion Din, the Oracle of Seasons, Deity of Power. It is an honor to be here."

The Regula man sniffed, unimpressed. "You seem to know how to be courteous. Why did you not fall prey to the Woods?"

Farore gave a mysterious smile. "I am the Oracle of Secrets. There is no mystery I cannot solve."

"I am Eral, King of the Regulas," the Regula man said after a moment. "This is our home. Please do not make yourselves welcome."

"We do not plan to," Din spoke up. "We were just wondering- what is that tower?"

Eral looked behind him at the Shrine of Secrets. "That is the Forbidden Tower," he replied. "It is forbidden because we cannot gain access to the inside. The only opening is protected by magic."

"What was the ceremony you were just conducting?" Farore asked. "Why did you circle the tower like that?"

"Because the Tower contains a secret."

Extinction

Veran floated there, unseen, just behind King Eral. How boring. Here she was, spying on the Oracles, but they weren't doing anything. Experimentally, she flew up to the Forbidden Tower's opening. She couldn't cross the threshold. It was protected by some very powerful magic. Someone didn't want anyone inside.

From what she understood, Onox was waiting outside the Woods's only entrance. There was no reason she couldn't snoop around and do some digging of her own.

She knew about the Regulas. She knew them well. The King started the chain, and his Queen ended it. All she had to do was look for the one with the loveliest shade of violet…

There! A Regulan woman with long, flowing ringlets. She wore a simple one-shoulder dress made from what appeared to be thousands of flower petals. A golden circlet- the only part of her that wasn't violet- was set on her head.

Veran reached into her. She gasped slightly, drawing the attention of the nearby Regulans, but Veran took her over easily. She did not fight. Now, to watch and wait.

Hero

Link heard the scream from the courtyard.

He watched as the castle guards looked up in surprise. Then he listened as the person screamed again. It didn't sound like Zelda, so it wasn't his problem. He shrugged and walked out of the castle gates.

"Link!" Zelda's voice. Link turned to see Zelda supporting Rika, who looked like she was barely standing. Zelda looked frightened. "She collapsed, and the crystal lotus- it was black!"

Link stood there stock-still for a few moments, until he gathered himself and turned back towards the gates. "Magic really isn't my forte," he called. "Good luck."

"L-Link!" Zelda squealed. "What should I do?"

"I'm the muscle," Link said scornfully. "You're the one that knows what's going on all the time. You take care of it." He was done with being Zelda's servant. Nobody ever bested him- especially not armored morons and a parasite. He was going to find Onox and Veran.

Nobody was going to stop him. Not invisible creatures, not delicate Seers.

Especially not Zelda.

Power

"What is the secret of the Forbidden Tower?" Din asked.

King Eral turned his hard, cold gaze on her. Din shivered. "We do not know," he replied. "We only know it is so great that not even our magic is able to breach the barrier. But this is a Regulan matter. Not humans."

"We aren't ordinary humans," Din replied icily. "As we said before, I am the Oracle of Seasons, and my companion is the Oracle of Secrets."

"We know no Oracles," Eral said coldly. "Only Muses."

"King Eral, I have reason to believe that is the Shrine of Secrets," Farore said urgently. "If you'll just let me look-"

"The Forbidden Tower is sacred Regulan ground," Eral snapped. "If we race of fairies have had no luck in breaking the seal, what makes you think you will?"

A pretty Regulan woman with a gold circlet stepped forward. "Husband, perhaps they could be of help."

"What could they do, Lilyn?" Eral asked. Din noticed his tone was a bit softer. "What could they accomplish that we never have?"

Lilyn smiled prettily. "Why, my dear king, they have innovation that has stayed out of our grasp. I say we let them have a go."

Din narrowed her eyes. There was something about how Lilyn was speaking…

"Fine," King Eral consented with disdain. "You will have until sunrise. If you do not win access to the tower by then, you will leave this forest the way you came. If you do, we will permit you to leave through the Lost Woods."

Din caught Farore's eye. The Lost Woods were part of the Kokiri Forest- and they were far less frightening than the Woods of the Deep. If they cracked the secret, they would finally gain entry to Hyrule.

Farore bowed her head. "We are thankful, King Eral."

"I will watch over their progress," Lilyn volunteered.

"No," Eral decided. "Iva- you will supervise. The Queen and I shall retire."

Lilyn seemed disappointed, but she turned and fluttered after Eral.

A royal blue fairy stepped forward, wearing a simple dress. "I am Iva," she said, pronouncing the name like "Ee-va." She brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "I will watch your progress."

The rest of the Regulas dispersed, floating off aimlessly. Some entered the rock homes. A few disappeared, multicolored fireflies in their place. Several flew across the clearing, looping and laughing.

Farore marched straight up to the tree. First she tried running up- and ended up slipping back to the ground. Din watched in amusement.

"Iva, is it possible to carry us up?" she asked.

Iva blinked. "Say no such thing! We are not horses to ride upon- not chariots that carry!"

"Sorry!" Din said, flustered.

Farore tilted backwards. "Really, really high," she muttered. "The only opening's really high."

"Rei, you're the tree expert," Din said. "Do you see any way?"

Farore shook her head. "The Maku Trees have bark, at least. This whole tree was petrified smooth."

Din sat down. "I can't take the Woods again." A shiver ran up her spine at the mere memory of traveling through the Woods of the Deep a second time.

Farore cracked her knuckles, the way she always did when faced with a difficult problem. "Then we won't go through that way."

Hope

Princess Zelda lay Rika down on her bed before sinking into a chair. What was she going to do? Link wasn't listening to her, Rika was in obvious distress, and to make matters worse, border guards were coming in a steady stream to the sick ward, sporting wounds identical to Link's. Things were getting worse by the minute- never mind the fact that Din, Farore, and Nayru were still missing. According to the Maku Trees (Contacted through a Maku Key), Din, Farore, and Nayru had left. But where had they gone? Where they trying to solve the problem on their own? It would be just like Din and Farore to be so impulsive… but timid Nayru?

"Rika," she whispered, "wake up." Her eyes fell on the crystal lotus, which shimmered with tainted purple light. Black on black swept across the surface like oil. Something had soiled its purity. But what? There were too many questions Zelda did not know the answer to.

A guard entered the room. "Impa is awake," he muttered, before leaving as quickly as he had come.

Zelda stood and walked to the throne room.

Impa sat in a simple chair, swathed in so many bandages she looked like a mummy. She rose when she saw Zelda. "Princess," she greeted, bowing. "All is not well."

"No kidding," Zelda said tiredly, taking her place on the throne. "What else is going wrong?"

"What already has?" Impa inquired.

Zelda told her everything she knew, from the Treasures' connection being snapped to Link's wound to Rika's fit- even Link's meltdown. When she finished, she realized her shoulders felt lighter, as if a huge weight had been removed.

Impa nodded, taking the news in stride. "The Oracles are indeed in danger. Just before I left, they all told me they felt something wrong- in the weather, in time, in town."

"Town?" Zelda repeated, confused.

"The town gossip. They spouted sacred secrets as they would about their neighbor's latest cat."

"I see," Zelda said. "So what do you make of this?"

"Have you heard anything of the Sages?" Impa asked.

Zelda frowned. "No. I have Called, but they do not Answer."

As she spoke, Nabooru's voice filled her mind. _Princess Zelda!_

Zelda jolted in her seat.

"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?" Impa asked.

"No… just fine," Zelda murmured. In her head, she screamed, _Why didn't you Answer me? I Called many times._

_I had things to do, so I closed my mind to others,_ Nabooru explained. _But this is important. Twinrova is gone!_

_Gone?_ Zelda repeated, blinking. _They can't be gone. They were locked in the Chamber of Danger._

_That's what I thought,_ Nabooru replied. _I don't know how, but they've vanished. I'll contact the others and tell them to stay alert. Nabooru out._

Nabooru said nothing more. Zelda fumed slightly. "Sorry, Impa. My Call was Answered quite abruptly." She glanced through the window, hoping for a glimpse of the landscape, but the sun had already set.

Courage

"Hopeless," Din moaned.

"Don't know the meaning of the word," Farore insisted. "There has to be a way up."

"Hopeless," Din repeated.

"Stop saying that!"

"It's true. We'll have to go back through the Woods of the Deep."

"We will not," Farore said fiercely. "I am getting into the Shrine if it kills me."

Iva yawned, lighting up the clearing with her royal blue glow. "I hope you find a solution soon," she said tiredly. "I wish to return to my bed." She glanced longingly at the hollow stone aglow with blue light.

Farore increased the lamplight, throwing shadows over Din's forlorn face. "You give up too easily," she scolded.

"Ask the Regulans!" Din complained. "They've been trying for who knows how long?"

"Since Eral rose to be king- seven years," Iva supplied.

"Well, eighth time's a charm, right?" Farore tried.

"More like eight thousandth," Iva replied. We've done that ceremony- combining all our magic together- for a very long time, always around the Forbidden Tower. Sometimes it's to break the seal; sometimes it's to enforce it. We only know of it by legend. The last one to enter the tower was the Muse of Earth." She smiled wanly. "The Muse told us, before she left, that she had been the key to unlock it all along. But curiously, the seal on the window was never lifted and showed no signs of being removed."

"This Muse- what was her name?" Farore asked. "Was she a young girl- with green hair?"

"No," Iva said. "Though such a girl has visited us. She introduced herself as the Sage of the Forest. She came rather recently."

"That's Saria," Din said in recognition.

"Yes, that was her name," Iva agreed. "The Muse's name, though- that escapes me…"

"She herself was the key," Farore mumbled. "But if she was the key, then do I need her? No… something must have given her a clue… about herself…"

"What is the connection between the Muse of Earth and yourself, Oracle of Secrets?" Iva asked.

"I have reason to believe we are one and the same," Farore replied, drawing a small silver box out of her Leafsatchel.

Din blinked. "Isn't that the Stone of Secrets?"

"Or the Stone of Wind. Or the Stone of Courage. Or the Stone of Terra Firma," Farore recited. "Those are all different titles for the Oracles- Oracle of Secrets, Deity of Courage, Harbinger of Wind. It stands to reason that another title could be the Muse of Earth."

"Don't you mean the Muse of Terra Firma?" Din asked.

"Nah. Terra Firma, Earth, same thing."

Iva frowned. "But… you look nothing like her."

"There have been many Oracles through the ages," Farore told the large fairy. "When we became Oracles, we were entrusted with these Stones. We were told to treasure them above all else- except our Treasures, obviously."

Iva looked vaguely confused.

"I thought you hated your Stone because you thought it looked like a really big booger," Din said matter-of-factly.

"That was then. Now… it might be the key that the Muse was talking about." Farore pulled the misshapen lump of green rock out of its box and rubbed it in her hand. It slowly grew warmer. "The Stone is the only thing that's passed from Oracle to Oracle. Or Muse to Muse. Deity to Deity. Whatever."

Din actually began to look hopeful, some of the old fire returning to her eyes. "So we have the key… but where's the lock?"

"It's not up there," Farore said with certainty. "No human could possibly reach up there. And Oracles are always human."

"So do we need help from the Regulans?" Din asked.

"No," Farore replied. "I just said the real entrance isn't up there." She was sure she knew the way to get in, but she was too tired to implement the plan at the moment. She needed a little sleep.

Farore sat down. "I'm going to take a nap, because we have plenty of time. Wake me up in an hour or two." She fell asleep quickly.

Din yawned, and she fell asleep just the same. The two Oracles only awoke when Iva yelled, "The sun is rising!"

Hero

Link reached the border. He had retrieved his magic cape from his home, as well as his Clawshot. The Lens of Truth was practically glued to his eye, searching for the invisible creature. His arm still ached, and he was convinced it was glowing, though he dared not remove his cape. One hand obscured by the Clawshot, one hand gripping the Master Sword, he stalked the border silently, listening for any sounds in the night. He was so jittery he almost cleaved a squirrel in half when it crackled on a leaf.

Suddenly: footprints from nowhere. Without hesitating, Link fired the Clawshot. It hit something, and the creature squealed with pain. Link roared in triumph and dove forward with the Master Sword for the kill.

He met air.

But… but he was plunging his sword in the exact spot his Clawshot was gripping. What was going on?

Suddenly the Clawshot dropped to the ground, and whatever it was let out an exhale of relief.

"What… what are you?" Link shouted incredulously. His analytical sense was in haywire. From what he could tell, this invisible monster could make itself intangible, rendering all weapons useless.

The monster attacked. Link's blood spattered the ground as it attacked him. His arm went numb. The monster attacked again, knowing it had Link at its mercy. It caught Link's leg, and Link limped away as fast as he could.

With shaking fingers, Link pulled out his ocarina- another one from Kokiri Forest Saria had gifted to him- and played Epona's Song. Within seconds, Epona had galloped to his side. He scrambled onto her with difficulty and flew out of there.

He looked behind him. The rising sun showed the beast's faint shadow on the ground. Link nearly swallowed his tongue.


	14. The Shrine of Secrets

Power

Din's eyes snapped open at Iva's call. "Farore!" she yelled.

Farore stirred drowsily. "Wha…?"

"The sun is rising!"

Farore jumped up. "Aw, crap! Why didn't you wake me?"

"I fell asleep," Din muttered. "Anyway, if you're going to do something, do it now!" She could see King Eral and Queen Lilyn emerge from the fanciest stone house. Eral was glowering.

"Go!" Din hissed. "I'll cover for you."

Farore knelt to the earth and touched the ground. "Not here," she muttered. She moved forward a few feet and touched the ground again. "Not here, either."

Din stared at her in confusion. "What in Wisdom's name are you doing?" Immediately she regretted her choice of words.

Farore didn't hear it; or she pretended not to. "I'm being the Muse of Earth," she replied. "Duh."

Din decided not to question her friend's logic. She probably had an idea of what she was doing. Or maybe she was just desperate.

By this point, Eral had reached Din. "Your time is up," he said. "You will leave now."

"We just need a little longer," Din pleaded.

"You had all night!" Eral snapped. "You do not need a little longer."

"But…" Din's mind flew as she tried to think of a way to stall. She came up empty. They would have traveled all this way for nothing.

"Found it!" Farore suddenly shouted triumphantly. She was standing dead-center of the clearing. She pulled out her Stone, which flashed in the sunlight.

Eral turned in mild surprise. "What are you doing?" he roared, flying towards Farore at light speed.

Farore dropped the Stone on the ground. Din heard a rumbling noise. Then, as she watched, a perfectly circular hole opened up, and Farore dropped it. Din saw her hand reach up and grab the stone, and the ground sealed itself.

If Din hadn't been watching, she would have sworn it had never happened. The ground looked exactly the same as it had before. Everything looked the same.

The only difference was Farore had vanished.

Water

Ruto looked up as Nabooru sauntered in. "You're late," she snapped. "What took you?"

"I ran into our little Hero of Time," Nabooru replied. "Kid looked scared out of his wits. He kept babbling about some invisible creature that couldn't be seen with the Lens of Truth."

Ruto snorted. "And I'm Gohma. Anyway, look at this."

Nabooru hurried over. "Oh, man… is she all right?"

"I don't know," Ruto admitted. "She hasn't woken up for days. It sounds like there's water in her lungs."

"Well, that's not good. Why is she even alive?"

Ruto shrugged. "My guess? Because she's in possession of the Stone, that kept her alive long enough to come into my care. For now, though, there's not much we can do. Maybe one of the other Sages will have an idea."

"Yeah…" Nabooru shifted uncomfortably. "I kinda told the other Sages the quick details of what happened, so they all agreed to protect their respective Temples."

Ruto glared. Then she sighed. "Let's contact them now. Maybe one of them will have an idea."

Nabooru and Ruto closed their eyes and Called. One by one, the Sages Answered. Except for Zelda- she was too preoccupied.

The Sages of Water and Spirit quickly explained what had happened and what they knew. Nabooru filled them in on Twinrova, which surprised Ruto.

_Hmm,_ Impa said when they were done. _Looks like we've got quite a pickle. _Impa was the Sages' warrior, always prepared to fight, wherever she was.

_Agreed,_ Darunia said gruffly. He seemed gruff, but kept a soft spot for all the Sages- especially Saria, whom he treated like his own daughter. _But what should we do?_

_Twinrova will probably attack the Temples,_ Rauru guessed He was the Sages' advisor, always waiting to be Called on in the Temple of Time. _She will want some power._

_But we don't even know what she's after, Rauru,_ Saria pointed out. She was the peacemaker of the Sages. _What does Princess Zelda have to say about this?_

Ruto groaned. _She's too busy. She didn't Answer the Call, remember? Anyway, Saria has a point. We don't even know what Twinrova is looking for._

_For all we know,_ Nabooru added, _she could be trying to revive Onox and Veran._

The six Sages laughed uncomfortably.

Courage

Farore landed at the bottom of the root.

It had been so simple. Muse of Earth. Root in the ground. Somewhere, there had to be a hollow root with an opening. She simply used the Stone as a dowsing rod, or used it as a bat would use radar. She put together a mental picture of the ground below, listening for different vibrations that indicated something hollow. Finding the entrance had been a little harder, but it was nothing she couldn't manage. Now she walked through the hollow root. Warm light was just ahead.

Farore emerged in a cream-colored room, incredibly detailed carvings taking up the walls. The open book symbol flashed again and again. Farore grinned. She was in the right place.

She followed a thin vein of green on the floor, spiraling upward and upward. She kept going up, up, up, until she stopped counting the steps and just ran after the thin vein. The entire place was lit either by torches or a bright, unknown source that seemed to emanate from the walls. A soft, yellow glow.

At last, Farore reached the top. She stared around in awe. Both lovely and frightening beasts danced across the walls, depicted in pain-staking detail. A string of saliva stretched from the open maw of a white wolfos, and Farore could count the individual scales on a surprisingly-lifelike carving of Aquamentus. She recalled the battle with the beast, only about a week before. Then, shivering, she walked on to the next room.

This room was covered- ceiling to floor- in carved words. Passages stretched from top to bottom.

Farore realized with a start that this was the Chamber of Secrets, and the room before had been the Chamber of Legends that she had heard about. Or read about. Either way, she was growing more and more amazed.

At last, she had found the place she had spent forever looking for. She could probably spend years in here, just copying down everything. But, instead, she had to keep going, all the way to the end.

Right

She sighed. Okay, maybe the Shrine was important.

Courage

Farore pushed open the door (covered in Secrets, of course) and entered the next room. This room had a large Triforce carved onto the wall, but only the bottom right one- Courage- had a symbol in it. Torches lined the room. A large pedestal cast a shadow over a smaller one.

Farore hesitantly removed the Stone from her pocket. She examined the smaller pedestal; it had a little dimple in it, but it hadn't been carved. Someone had cut the stone out with the dimple already there. And another thing- the whole pedestal was green, with brown veins and spots.

Like a big booger.

Farore set the Stone into the dimple. It fit perfectly. The bigger pedestal was suddenly bathed in a green light.

"Hello, me," Courage smiled as she materialized into view. Instead of the earthy outfit she had worn before, she now wore a long flowing dress that moved in an unfelt wind. "I have wanted to contact you."

"Courage," Farore whispered.

"You used the Stone well," Courage noted. "We three Goddesses are connected to the Stones- it is our last Link to Hyrule."

"What do we do when we reach the Triforce?" Farore asked. "We only know we have to."

"I can only tell you with my sisters," Courage replied. "And you can only ask us with yours. You are missing a companion, I see."

Farore looked away with a stab of sorrow. "She died."

Courage smiled. "Fear not, Oracle of Secrets. She is alive."

Farore blinked. "Nayru's alive? Where is she?" Her tone was desperate.

Courage shrugged. "I am not sure. But you and she are more alike than you think."

Farore actually had to stifle a laugh. "Are you kidding me? Ru's the most timid person I've ever met, and she's always telling me to think things through."

"The Deity of Wisdom, the Oracle of Secrets," Courage said. "They are not so far apart, hmm? Tell me, what happened to the Oracle of Seasons when she found the Shrine of Seasons?"

Farore thought back. "That was when she gained the ability to use the power of the seasons in dance."

"I bestow to you, Harbinger of Wind, Muse of Earth, Deity of Courage, Oracle of Secrets, a new power," Courage said, raising her arms. A large ball of light grew. "Use it well." She dropped the ball on Farore, who cried out in surprise. Her skin tingled.

Suddenly it was over. Farore was in a small room, with no torches. A faint green glow still lingered. A knife of light cut through the gloom from the window Farore had seen in the first place.

Courage's voice whispered in her ear. "The Hero of Time is not the only one who wears green," she said. It sounded like wind, being carried on a breeze. Then the green glow faded, and Farore was alone.

Farore stared at the window. It _was_ the only way out…

Power

The intimidating Regulans surrounded Din. "It has been forty-five minutes," King Eral snarled. "Where is your friend, Oracle?" He spat the last word as he would an insult.

"She'll be out soon," Din assured, trying to stall for time. She was terrified, but she knew if she showed any weakness, the Regulan King would tear her to shreds. "And you know the deal- if she leaves the Tower plainly, we gain entrance to the Lost Woods."

"But you did not discover the secret until after sunrise," Eral hissed. "It no longer matters. We throw you back into the Woods of the Deep no matter what."

"My King, they did unlock the secret of the Forbidden Tower," a yellow Regulan pointed out. "Even if it wasn't in the allotted time."

"I don't care!" Eral snapped. "I want them out of my woods!"

Iva suddenly shrieked and shot towards the base of the Tower, her wings moving so fast it was blur. Din turned sharply to see what was the matter- and her heart threatened to burst from her chest.

Farore was clearly visible at the top of the Tower- in the space Eral had pointed out earlier. Or rather she was visible below it- having just thrown herself from the window. She was hurtling straight down, with a completely calm look on her face.

Din's stomach lurched. Iva won't make it in time-

A golden light flashed through the clearing. Suddenly Farore was on the ground, holding the Stone tightly. A wind nobody else could feel billowed around her, making her hair loosen from its ties, and then it vanished. Her hair settled on her shoulders.

Iva screeched to a stop, very nearly crashing into Farore. "Are you out of your mind?" she yelled.

Farore blinked. Din could almost see what had happened to her. When Farore had gone in, she had been a bit childish, although she pulled out knowledge at random times. Now she seemed more graceful, more mysterious, more serious.

More like the Oracle of Secrets.

Farore looked up. Her eyes had deepened. "Which way to the Lost Woods?"

Hope

Zelda woke blearily, as she always did with the sun. Impa had promised to search for the Oracles only if Zelda had slept. Now the royal teenager realized Impa had known she needed the sleep. She had been tired and irritated, and had even snapped at one of the Sages. Now she was calmer and able to think more clearly.

She couldn't remember any appointments she had for the day, so Zelda dressed casually in a simple dress and her usual tiara. The maid, having known Zelda's habits, had already left the princess her breakfast on her bedside table. Zelda ate a few scrambled cucco eggs and some bacon and washed it down with Lon Lon milk. Then she opened her mind- in case one of the Sages Called- and walked down to the throne room.

Quite suddenly, Saria contacted her. _Princess Zelda! Princess Zelda!_ she squealed.

Zelda jolted in surprise. _What is it, Saria?_

_I found the Oracles!_

_You did?_

_Yes. They got into the Lost Woods somehow. But the funny thing is- well, Nayru's not with them…_

Zelda's heart sank. _It's just Din and Farore?_

_That's it. But Farore looks different, somehow. She used to be more like me- more like a kid. Now…_ Saria hesitated.

_What's different?_ Zelda asked urgently. _What's different?_

_I don't know. She's just more… more like Din and Nayru. I'll bring them to the castle right away._

_Thank you,_ Zelda said. She meant it.

_Okay. See you later. And Zelda?_

_Yes?_

_I'm glad you're back to normal. You're no fun when you're dark and gloomy._ With that cheerful note, Saria ended the connection.

Zelda sighed. "Dark and gloomy?" she muttered. "Me?"

AN:

_Ha, yeah, okay. See, I'm finally contacting you guys via amazing author powers!_

_I know I completely vanished off the face of FanFiction for the last several months. I really hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to review! I'm an amateur writer, and I seriously need to know how I'm doing and what you guys think. I know my chapters are fairly short, but that's because I'm a total sucker for cliffhangers._

_So, do you like how the Oracles are portrayed? How the chapter length is? I'd like to throw in a few random elements, but I'm not really sure how that'll fit with the tone of the story._

_Anyway, keep reading! The action's barely started from here, and it's going to be a wild ride. I'm not sure how far we are into the story, but it's definitely not over yet. ;)_


	15. Lost in the Woods

**Wisdom**

Nayru was having a nightmare.

In the nightmare, she was sucked into a terrifying whirlpool and couldn't get out. She flew down a watery tunnel before she suddenly broke the surface, but before she could breathe she was sucked back below. This continued until her body screamed for air and her brain wrenched her jaw open- even though she was sucking in water instead of oxygen.

Then everything went dark for the longest time. All Nayru knew was that she couldn't breathe and she was bored out of her mind.

Suddenly light struck her eyes so fast she cried out in pain. She knew she was awake because her entire body was shivering and it ached. She turned to her side and, without opening her eyes, began to retch.

Someone said, "She's awake!" but Nayru ignored them, instead coughing the last of the water from her system before taking her first breath of water-free air. She cracked her eyes open. The light nearly blinded her.

Someone cast a shadow over her face. "Nayru?" a soft voice asked. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright?" Nayru croaked. She wiped her still-soaked hair from her face and finally opened her eyes. Princess Ruto knelt before her, Nabooru a little further off. Ruto's violet eyes were filled with worry.

"At least your sense of humor's intact," Nabooru grunted. "Can't say much about the rest of you."

Nayru looked down. Her favorite dress was torn, and a whole chunk of fabric seemed to be missing. Her arm was swathed in bandages, and her ankle throbbed something fierce.

"Your arm was bleeding, and I think you broke your ankle," Ruto explained. "Your dress was torn when I found you."

It slowly came back to Nayru. The Zora. The river. The very pointy rocks and…

"Where's my bag?" Nayru asked urgently. "Where's my Leafsatchel?" For an instant she felt a terrible fear. If she had lost her Leafsatchel… with the Harp inside…

"Over there," Nabooru gestured with her sword. Nayru let out a sigh of relief. Her Leafsatchel was soaked, but it was waterproof. She'd check it later if she could stand.

"What happened to you?" Ruto asked. "You were drifting down an underwater tunnel and you ran into me."

Nayru blinked. How could she explain this without telling about the Treasures? "I got stuck in the middle of a river and fell down the waterfall."

Nabooru looked at her in surprise. "Really? Never took you for an adventurous type of girl."

"I was with Din and Farore," Nayru mumbled. "We were exploring."

"Exploring where?" Nabooru challenged.

Nayru glared. "Do you really want to know?"

"Do you really want to tell me?" Nabooru retorted.

"Don't make me hurt you."

Nabooru chuckled. "You're not much without that pretty little Harp of yours."

Nayru felt a stab of guilt. "I didn't bring it with me," she muttered, thinking of the Harp's corpse buried in her Leafsatchel.

"It doesn't matter," Ruto said forcefully. "Nayru, Princess Zelda is looking for you and the others. We need to take you to her."

"No!" Nayru said in alarm. Zelda couldn't know they were here. If she did… if she found out… she didn't want to finish the thought.

"Why?" Ruto asked. It wasn't interrogative like Nabooru would have been, but gentle and patient.

"Please don't tell her. I have to find the others," Nayru said, attempting to stand. A wave of pain sloshed around her ankle. "Ow-"

Nabooru was there in a second, supporting the Oracle of Ages as she needed. "Jeez, Nayru, when we say your ankle's broken, we mean it's broken!"

"Wrap it, then," Nayru snapped. "I need to find the others." And while I'm here, she thought, I ought to see if I can steal the Zora's Sapphire too. She felt terrible betraying her friends like this, but it was the only way.

"Come on," Ruto said. "We've got a healer that's lurking around here somewhere."

**Hero**

Link stumbled into the throne room. Zelda was on him in an instant.

"What do you think you're doing?" she cried.

"I'm bleeding!" he snapped.

"All over my freshly-cleaned floors," Zelda commented. "Come on. What happened to you?"

"That… that thing," Link spat. "That's what happened." He explained his encounter with the strange creature that patrolled the border.

When he finished, Zelda looked pale. It didn't suit her. "That's worrisome," she admitted.

Link practically exploded. "Worrisome! That's all you can say? That thing will attack innocent people! Travelers! Hyrule's outside communications- and supplies- have been severed, unless we somehow take care of that creature!"

Zelda bit her lip. "You've made a good point. Our local imports- we'll have to rely on those instead. Fish from Lake Hylia, Lon Lon milk, cucco eggs and cuccos, any harvests I can squeeze from Kokiri Forest…"

"You forgot the delicacies of the desert," Link said with a face.

Zelda wrinkled her nose. "Smoked scorpion sprinkled with beetles. Charming."

By now the two had reached the sick ward. The nurse shooed Zelda away and pulled Link aside to treat his fresh wounds. "What happened here?" she asked.

"An invisible creature that can willingly go intangible," Link replied matter-of-factly.

The nurse blinked and adjusted her small glasses. "Well, I never…"

"I haven't either," Link agreed. He brooded over the tiny details he had seen that he hadn't mentioned to Zelda. They would worry her. Things like a sudden sparkle in the sun. A low snort.

And the faint- but clear- shadow of some sort of pig.

Courage

Farore studied the bark on the log. "What interesting patterns," she murmured. Her own voice was almost drowned out by Din's, who seemed to be trying to live up to her name.

"That was amazing! You just flung yourself from the tree and showed that stuck-up Eral what you're made of! Then you just picked up our bags and asked Iva to show us the Lost Woods entrance, and she just pointed and we left! Oh my goddess, did you see stupid Eral's face when that happened? He was completely slack-jawed. I'd like to shove a rock down his throat…"

"Din," Farore said sharply, "can you stop talking? We go this way."

"Sorry," Din said sheepishly. "I'm just excited. You're different, Rei. Somehow, you changed."

Farore sighed. Din kept going on and on about how she had changed, but she didn't feel very different. Somehow Courage had changed her hairstyle, so now her hair was set in two pigtails instead of two buns, and her bangs were a little different, but other than that, she was normal.

"Man, I'm hungry," Din moaned.

"Then get an apple out of your bag," Farore replied.

"What…?" Din sounded confused.

Farore turned. "You just said you were hungry."

"No, I didn't. I thought it, though," Din said carefully.

"Weird. Coulda sworn you said it," Farore shrugged, tossing the matter aside. She led Din through the passageways, going faster and faster as she saw the patterns.

"You amaze me," Din whistled.

Farore shrugged. Something was starting to bother her. Just the day before, not even she, the Oracle of Secrets, could analyze patterns like this and see the answer with such speed and accuracy. Had Courage enhanced her power? And she didn't feel afraid of much any more. She ran through her titles: Oracle of Secrets, Deity of Courage, Harbinger of Wind, Muse of Terra Firma… Had Courage granted her power in each?

She was so deep in thought she almost fell off the small cliff that presented itself in front of her. "Ow!" she yelped when she hit the ground.

Din laughed as she jumped gracefully to the ground. "You couldn't solve the secret that we'd left the Lost Woods?"

"I was thinking," Farore mumbled lamely. "Is this Kokiri Forest?" She hoped it was.

"Yes," Din confirmed, watching a small red-haired boy with a red fairy come running up. "Hey, Mido. Long time no see."

"Saria said she'd seen you!" Mido babbled. "She said to tell you to go to Princess Zelda!"

Farore's face dropped. "Mido, Zelda can not know we are here. Is that understood?"

"But Saria already told her," Mido explained. "She's looking for you in the Lost Woods. You haven't seen her?"

"No," Din replied. "Mido, don't tell Zelda we're here. And tell everyone else not to say anything. We're here on a secret mission."

"Okay," Mido said, sounding unconvinced. "I won't tell anyone." He waddled off, and his fairy zigzagged after him.

Din sighed. "I feel awful. I don't want to do this, but we don't have any choice, do we?"

"We don't," Farore agreed. "Let's go pay a visit to the Deku Tree. Maybe if we're lucky he'll just give us the stone and we won't have to steal it."

"Then again," Din said gloomily, "we haven't had much luck lately."

Farore's face darkened. She heard Din mutter, "Nayru…" and she was thinking the same thing.

"Let's go," she said. "Maybe our luck will change."

**Extinction**

Onox gnashed his teeth in anger. Those pesky Oracles had escaped him again! They had gained entrance to the Lost Woods, and through them, Kokiri Forest!

Din had slipped from his grasp again! No matter- he could cut them off at the entrance to Kokiri Forest. Perhaps if he kidnapped Din, he could take the Stones from them more easily… he grinned at the thought.

Onox set off, clanking in his armor as he moved quickly across the landscape. The creature that patrolled the border was quick to attack, but its invisible claws scraped harmlessly off his armor. He only looked down because he heard it squeal in anger.

"Oh, be silent," he snapped, his voice echoing off his helmet. "You are currently only a shade of what you once were, and therefore you have only a shade of a job. Just keep guarding until we get the rest of it underway."

The creature grunted but let him pass. He moved swiftly until he was stood at the entrance of Kokiri Forest. Perhaps they would not come soon, but he was willing to wait.

They would not escape.

**Power**

Din led the way through the brush and along the canyon to the Deku Tree. Farore trailed after her, uncharacteristically silent. Din was starting to worry. What had happened in the Shrine? Now her friend, whom she depended on for support and optimism, was acting about as gloomy and down as she had been recently. Din often worried about trivial things, and in times like those she counted on Farore to take the edge of things and make it seem as silly as it really was.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. To her relief, Farore's green eyes were bright with interest, looking at the canyons and walls around her. Was that a sparkle she could see in her eye? Din could even see the mischief of a child somewhere in there.

"I'm fine," Farore said. "It's just a lot to take in. From the Shrine, I mean. Courage spoke to me."

"She did?"

"Yes. She said she can't tell us what to do until we speak to her along with the other two goddesses- Power and Wisdom."

"Which means the Triforce," Din summarized.

"Pretty much. Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Definitely," Din agreed, relieved that her friend wasn't using formal language any more. She was more of a cross between a fun-loving teen and a serious adult.

"Speaking of…" Farore stopped. They had reached the edge of the clearing. The Deku Tree, which had grown a lot in the last couple years, stood about twenty feet tall. Every leaf that spiraled to the ground was replaced by another. A small, young man's face was clear in the rough bark. His eyes opened, and he blinked.

Din and Farore walked down and bowed respectfully in front of the Deku Tree. "Great Deku Tree," Din said by way of greeting.

"I am not yet great," the Deku Tree replied. "I am respected, but not yet wise. I am still young."

"You are wise for knowing that," Din said sagely. Then her face fell. "At least, that's what Nayru would say."

"Why are you here, and not protecting the Shrine of Seasons?" the Deku Tree asked.

"We've come for a favor," Farore explained. She looked the Deku Tree in the eye with a sadness well beyond her years. "We need the Kokiri's Emerald."

The Deku Tree was immediately suspicious. "Why?"

"We need to contact the Goddesses," Din said. "We wouldn't if we didn't have to, but this is of extreme importance, and we can't involve the Princess."

"You think I would simply give it to you?" the Deku Tree asked, almost amused. "Why do you need it? You're not thinking of entering the Sacred Realm, are you?" Their silence was enough of an answer. "Have you forgotten Ganondorf?"

"We haven't!" Din protested. "We need to enter the Sacred Realm and contact the Goddesses through the Triforce as soon as possible. If we don't…"

"If you don't, what will happen? Why not just get your Treasures together?" the Deku Tree chortled.

The look on their faces must have been quite sorrowful, because immediately the Deku Tree's tone softened. "What happened to the Treasures?"

Din and Farore glanced at each other.

"I see…" Somehow the Deku Tree, without being told, understood what had happened. "That is why…"

"You will probably be the only one that's so understanding," Din murmured. "You see why we can't tell the Princess."

"I do," the Deku Tree amended. He sighed heavily. "But I still can't give you the Emerald. I'm sorry."

**Wisdom**

Nayru hobbled out of Zora's Domain, her still-throbbing ankle bound tightly in bandages and held in place by a splint. Nayru could walk a little on it, but she knew that if she could just find Din and Farore, she'd be fine. She knew that Farore had a healing spell copied from the Tome. But for now, she settled for a forked branch shaped like a crude crutch. If an animal attacked now, she'd be toast.

"If you must go, then go," Ruto has said, "but take this water with you." She'd handed Nayru a crystal vial filled with a sparkling red liquid. "It's from the Red Ice from a while ago. Use it in times of need."

Nayru felt the small vial through her pocket. She was still wearing her torn dress. Ruto had offered her a Zora dress, but the scales were so slimy that Nayru had politely refused. Now she limped along the path, working her way towards the border. It wasn't too far.

A chill suddenly traveled up her spine. On instinct, she hid in the safety of a few bushes. To her shock, she watched as a man with a pointy bronze helmet traipsed across the Field, heading towards Kokiri Forest. She'd seen pictures of this man, and she had heard Din speak about him: Onox, the General of Darkness. But… he was dead. What was he doing walking around alive? Maybe she should go out to fight him…

Nayru sized him up. Onox was covered head to toe in thick armor. Neither the Claw nor Spear could even hope to pierce it. And if Onox saw her, she would most likely get killed. But this was too big of a mystery to ignore. Onox was supposed to be dead, yet here he was, strolling along the Field as if he had never died.

She would not fight. But staying here was risky. At least she knew that he was here. For now…

Something growled. The hair on the back of Nayru's neck stood on end. She grabbed her bag and staggered away. Every step sent a spear of pain jabbing at her ankle, but she ignored it. She still couldn't go to Princess Zelda, but she could hide somewhere on the Field. She wanted to see why Onox was lurking about when he should have been dead.

_Good plan,_ she thought sarcastically.

AN:

_Whew! An actual update that made the schedule I made. Amazing._

_Thanks for the reviews. I love criticism on my work because I really want to improve and make this an excellent read for everyone._

_Additional Pylon: Excellent pun, good sir. x'D Thanks for the feedback. You think my style is interesting? ./. Thanks._

_Rose Starglen: I just went through the entire story file and made all the POV changes bold. Thanks for the feedback ;)_

_Anony mous: Thanks! I actually do have an extremely old Wizard101 fanfic I've been meaning to rewrite… if anyone thinks I should, let me know. It's a very jumpy story that didn't really have a set plot, all written in free write. ^^;_

_Link-the-lightbringer: If you love Nayru so much, hope you enjoyed this chapter. ;) Don't worry, our Oracle of Ages is nowhere near done yet._

_Demonologist666: I'm wondering why I have so few reviews too. :T It might be because I'm lazy and don't update, so it doesn't hit the top of the page… if you recommended it, that might help._

_I think that's about it._

…_And because I'm an idiot sometimes, if someone could tell me how the heck to make line breaks so I can chat with you before the chapter, I'd give them a free invisible WiiU. (Unless you're a Pylon, then you'll just get a matching invisible drumset.)_


	16. Emerald Heist

_Whew! At long last, Chapter 16!_

_Thank you, Pylon, for telling me how the heck to do line breaks. Shows how much I know about FF, right? xP_

_Anyway, the end of school + me being lazy + numerous other things prevented me from updating this. But it's here, and that's the important thing._

_Review, guys! And get your friends to review too! I really wish this had more reviews..._

_Also, if you'd like to see a rewrite of my absolutely terrible fanfic from Wizard101 (I could always use an excuse to play), leave a comment on my profile or leave it in a review here._

_Alright, I think I've bored you enough. Go and read my story!_

_~Sorceress Rika_

* * *

><p><strong>Courage<strong>

"Why won't you give it to us?" Farore protested.

"It is the Kokiri's most sacred treasure," the Deku Tree replied. "The Great Deku Tree only gave it to the Hero of Time because it was needed."

"It's needed now!" Din argued. "The Goddesses' last connection to Hyrule has been shattered! We have to reconnect them so they can fix them, and the only way to contact them all together is through the Triforce!"

Farore fumed. They had lost a friend, been jeered at, and attacked by glowing fairy men to get to Hyrule, and then they couldn't retrieve the Spiritual Stones! She clenched her fists in frustration.

A powerful gale swept through the clearing. It blew one of Farore's hair ties from her hair, and Din nearly lost her treasured golden headband. The Deku Tree's branches rattled, shedding dozens of leaves.

"Whoa!" Din cried, her voice almost inaudible as the wind swept it away. "That was sudden!"

Farore blinked in surprise. Suddenly the wind stopped. Farore wiped her hair from her face. Din brushed her hair back. The Deku Tree looked surprised. He looked directly at Farore with his mossy eyes and said, "Tell your friend to go explore the Forest. I wish to speak to you alone." But his mouth didn't move.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" she replied a bit snottily.

"Tell me what?" Din asked.

For the second time in as many moments, Farore blinked in confusion. "Go explore the Forest. I'll join up with you in a moment."

"Okay…" Din said, looking puzzled. She ran out of the clearing.

"You can read minds," the Deku Tree said.

Farore wasn't sure she'd heard right. "Excuse me?"

"You can read minds," the Deku Tree repeated. "You are the Oracle of Secrets, the Harbinger of Wind, the Muse of Earth, and the Deity of Courage. You have gained power in each area."

"Keep talking."

"As the Oracle of Secrets, you have gained the power to read minds, to see others' hidden secrets and tales to record in the Tome volumes. As the Harbinger of Wind, you can control the air and bend it into wind at will. As the Muse of Earth… hmm… you will be able to see things through your feet."

"My feet?" Farore echoed.

"Yes," the Deku Tree agreed. "Your feet. And as the Deity of Courage…"

Farore cracked her knuckles. "I can guess to that."

"Good," the Deku Tree said. "Now, about the Spiritual Stone… I still can't give it to you…"

Farore's face dropped, but the Deku Tree grinned mischievously.

"Perhaps if, during the night, a slightly older Kokiri slipped into the Deku Tree Grove," the Deku Tree continued, "and climbed my branches, she would find the Spiritual Stone in a hollow at the very top."

Farore looked up. A green sparkle was clear at the Tree's peak.

"Of course, then the poor Kokiri would be trapped with dozens of other Kokiri attacking through the only entrance," the Deku Tree mused.

Farore let her eyes wander upward. "I wonder if she could possibly climb out over the canyon."

"It's a possibility," the Deku Tree agreed. "It's also possible that the Kokiri had a friend to leave with, in which case she could skirt around the edge and land on the shop's roof before grabbing her friend- who could be, oh, say, hiding in the grass around Mido's house- and rush out of the Forest."

"This is all in speculation, of course," Farore added.

"Yes," the Deku Tree replied. "How are Mai and Kul, by the way?"

Farore winked. "Just fine."

* * *

><p><strong>Despair<strong>

Veran stalked the Lost Woods. She had gotten lost.

_Damn those Oracles…_ she thought. Every turn brought her to a familiar place. She could see the Skull Kids watching her from supposedly hidden places, waiting for her to give up and become one of them. But she did not. Instead, she continued walking down passages she was sure she had not seen, until she reached an area with a stone archway. On a hunch, she ran down it.

The cool, moisture-laden air told her that she was nearing Lake Hylia. Sure enough, she emerged in Zora's Domain, in a sheltered area. Interesting.

However, the passing conversation really caught her attention: "Nayru seemed scared about something."

_She's alive?_ Veran thought in shock. Now she had to find that pesky Oracle of Ages and do away with her for good.

Stupid Oracle. Why couldn't she stay dead? Now Veran had to take care of her before Twinrova found out and labeled her as a failure. And when those under Twinrova were marked as failures, they didn't survive long.

Veran knew she was in no stage to challenge Twinrova; the witches had seen to that, damn them. She was only a shade of her former self. Now she had to find out where the Oracles were hiding exactly and deal with them before Koume and Kotake found out.

Hmph. Being a lackey sucked.

* * *

><p><strong>Courage<strong>

After making sure Din was safely hidden in the grass- much to the dancer's protests- Farore set herself to the task of planning escape routes.

It was not easy. The entire valley was concealed with thick walls that created inescapable canyons, and the only exits were easily defendable- huge, hollow wooden tunnels that provided a way to the outside world. Add to that the sense of magic in the air that made you giddy and never want to leave.

Farore realized with a start that Kokiri Forest was not a paradise; it was a prison. Most of the Kokiri had never seen the outside world, and probably never would. The Great Deku Tree had, for some reason, wanted to keep the Kokiri in the Forest- probably to keep them safe, to never know the terror of the outside world- with tales that they would turn into Skull Kids or die. They were isolated. They had never seen Lake Hylia or Gerudo Valley, only heard the tales of the Deku Tree.

Yes, the Forest was a prison; and an excellent prison at that. Yet, it was also a fortress. Impenetrable walls (from the inside and out), easy-to-defend entrances and exits, and a place where enemies would never get out of, no matter how hard they tried.

How desperately she wished Nayru were there! The Oracles acted like a well-disciplined military unit; they all had their roles, and they knew what to do with them. Nayru was the strategist, drawing up perfect plans and desirable designs as easily as she would pluck the Harp's strings. Din was the sniper, eager to take place in battle but too nervous to do so, instead hiding from danger and picking off enemies at a distance. That left Farore as the warrior, the show for the enemy, taking down scores of attackers by weaving magic spells and weaving her sword.

Nayru would have a field day with this, she realized. At that moment she missed her friend so much it hurt. She wanted so badly to see her, just to know where she was at that very moment. Then she shook her head to clear it. She needed to focus on getting the Emerald.

Farore busied herself the rest of the day by scurrying around the Forest, making maps and planning as many exit routes as possible. There weren't many; in fact the only route that guaranteed they would exit in the Field was the main exit, and that was always heavily guarded. It was imperative that she drew all the attention to the Deku Tree's Grove so the guards left their posts, leaving the way free and clear.

Hopefully…

* * *

><p><strong>Power<strong>

Din crouched in the grass and sighed. This was so stupid. Why did she have to sit in the grass? She'd get her dancing suit dirty.

_Stop it,_ she told herself. _Stop sounding like a priss._

She had to stop thinking about dancing. Dancing meant the circus. Circus meant all the troupe members that had vanished.

Din was scared. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. She knew she had sensed Onox's presence earlier. He was not dead. But Din has watched Link plunge his sword into the gem on his forehead, ending his life. How was he alive?

Nayru would probably know. She'd figure it out in ten minutes. Nayru had always been the smartest Oracle, always the wisest in knowing what to do.

As the strategist of the Oracles, Nayru could easily adopt a military manner that belied her delicate appearance. Veran had made a grave mistake by abusing her powers. Nayru had been furious afterward, and had vented all her anger to Din and Farore.

"That idiot had no idea who she was dealing with," Nayru had fumed over a cup of tea at the café, only a few days later. "She was a formidable enemy, I do not doubt that, but she believed I could easily be overshadowed? Ha!" Then her eyes had darkened. "But I was still overshadowed… because I was in a moment of weakness."

"Why would that be?" Farore had asked, sipping her hot chocolate. Farore disliked tea. Back then, she was still more like a child than anything else, but the question hid another purpose. Farore, as Oracle of Secrets, always aspired to understanding the human mind.

Nayru smiled. "It was the anniversary that we all became Oracles together. I was trying to think of ways to surprise you and celebrate, so my mental defenses were weak. And speaking of which…"

Just like that, Nayru had taken a gloomy conversation and turned it into a celebration full of laughter and fun. Nayru surprised them with matching pendants of stone, each stone a multicolor mix of red, green, and blue.

Din touched her pendant at the memory. The mixture of colors had been meant to symbolize that the Oracles had to work together and never apart- each one was more like the other than they realized. There was a reason there were three of them. Since Nayru had tumbled over the waterfall, Din had felt like a part of her had literally been ripped away.

"Hey." A finger poked her head. Din straightened to see a young Kokiri girl, with two poofy pigtails, staring her down. "Are you playing hide-and-seek?"

Din calmed her panic and smiled. "Yes, I am, and it's very important that you don't tell anyone I'm hiding here. The only person to still be hiding at sunset gets a prize."

"Cool," the girl chirped. "I won't tell anyone so you get the prize." She ran off.

Din sank back into the grass and fingered a few rupees that had somehow gotten in there. She gave the rest of the Kokiris that stumbled across her the same story: that she was playing hide-and-seek, and not to tell anyone she was hiding here. After a while, she began to grow tired.

Just for a moment, she told herself, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she hoped to see the moon and stars, but instead there were only foreboding black clouds, along with Farore's grim green eyes.

"Get ready," she said. "I'm going."

* * *

><p><strong>Courage<strong>

Farore left Din crouching in the grass, poised to run as soon as Farore gave the signal. By now, the Kokiri were dreaming in their wooden huts, all except for the guards, who remained as vigilant as ever and had a clear view of the entire valley.

Farore looked up at the sky. Clouds. It would rain tonight.

Farore ducked behind a hut and glanced at the entrance to the Deku Tree Grove; it was unguarded. She carefully wove her way through the brush, staying in the blind spot of the guards and only moving into the open when she had to. At last, she ducked around the bend to the Deku Tree.

Farore knew that the mission would be difficult. She knew that there would be, as soon as she started climbing the Deku Tree's branches, a magical trap would be tripped, and hundreds of Kokiri would pour into the Grove wielding spears, swords, and bow and arrows. She knew she would need to be quick and agile to dodge and sharp projectiles coming her way, and she knew that she would need to run like hell as soon as she got the Emerald if she had any hope of getting Din and getting out of the Forest in time. But she had accounted for all that.

What she hadn't accounted for was the patrol.

At least three guards circled the clearing. One was coming straight for her. Farore dove behind a withered Deku Baba and watched, heart in mouth, as the shadow passed. She almost sighed in relief. Now she had to somehow make a distraction long enough for her to start climbing…

But how?

Nayru would know what to do, Farore thought for the hundredth time that day. There had to be something around here that she could use. Something in her Leafsatchel. Something. Anything…

But Farore was drawing a blank. Just like that, the plan threatened to collapse around her. She clawed at the ground in despair.

A picture of the Grove suddenly filled her mind, all in black and white and perfect detail. Then it was gone. Hesitating, she tapped the ground again. The picture appeared in her mind again, but it was slightly different: the guards were all in different places then before. An idea took hold of her brain, and she began to tap the ground. The picture came back, and this time it was only gone for short periods. She could see the guards walking, like in a flipbook.

Neat.

She could also tell there were several Deku Nuts- the perfect distraction- lumped in a pile at the edge of the road, just a few feet away, but right in front of the guards. She would have to be careful…

Farore waited until the next guard passed, then she dove forward and scooped the Deku Nuts towards her. Perfect.

"Who's there!"

_Crap!_ Farore thought in a panic. One of the guards had seen her. But how? She looked up and noticed the moon. _Oh, duh. Moonlight._ Her arm would have been easy to see.

She only had one chance. Taking a Deku Nut, she heaved it off to the left. A bright flash lit up the Grove for a couple seconds, blinding the guards. Farore, eyes covered, started sprinting for the Deku Tree, hurling Deku Nuts left and right. The guards cried out in frustration, groping madly for their weapons. Farore saw one stumble out of the Grove. He was going to sound the alarm. She had to move quickly.

Farore reached the Deku Tree, who seemed to be asleep but he opened one green eye and winked. Farore winked back and began to climb. Immediately a loud moan, like the cry of a terrified infant, reverberated across the clearing. Farore heard Kokiri complaining as they were shaken from their slumber. She heard the clink of gathering weapons. She was nowhere near a safe enough area; right now she was in as much danger as a mouse cornered by a cat. No escape.

Perhaps she could make them think it was a false alarm, just for a few seconds, long enough for her to get just a little higher. Farore took a deep breath and imagined that the air was a physical thing she could twist to her will. She gripped it and warped it into the shape of a strong gale, and then she set it free.

The wind whipped itself into shape, eager to please its mistress. It obediently roared through the Kokiri Forest's valley, sweeping the sound of the alarm away for several seconds and scooping a few of the lighter Kokiris off their feet. Three Kokiri girls and one particularly lanky boy found themselves hanging on trees and would not be rescued until morning. Quote the boy: "At least it's away from those rocks in front of Saria's house."

The rest of the Kokiri paused in confusion as they strained their ears for the sound of the alarm. Hadn't they heard it? A few grumbled about being woken up in the middle of the night for some alarm test, or perhaps a prank.

Their pause bought Farore precious seconds to scale the tree. After a moment, she relinquished her control on the wind, and the wind blew itself out, feeling rather pleased with itself for being useful.

The wind's absence was instantly replaced with the loud blare of the alarm. The Kokiri, now convinced that Mido was not playing a joke on them, stormed off to defend the Deku Tree. But by now, Farore was much higher in the tree, impossible for the Kokiri to reach without scaling the tree themselves, which was forbidden.

This was why Farore was in so much trouble.

Gritting her teeth, Farore hauled herself up to reach another branch, which was just in reach of her outstretched fingers. She felt a few raindrops on her face. The Kokiri were beginning to trickle in, crying in outrage when they saw who was apparently one of their own climbing the Tree. Farore noticed Mido was nowhere to be found. Typical.

She turned her focus back to climbing; she was almost at the top. Just a few more feet. But even those few feet would prove difficult when the air was thick with rain. It was pouring.

"Stop right there!" a Kokiri girl screamed in fury. "Come down from the branches of the Deku Tree!"

"Yeah," shouted a boy, waving his spear. "Come down so we can use these on ya!" Many more Kokiri hooted in agreement.

Farore didn't answer; she was too busy dragging herself up to the top. A small hollow was now at eye level. Farore reached inside. Her fingers gripped something smooth and round. She slipped it into her pocket.

A girl screeched in outrage. "THE EMERALD! SHE TOOK THE EMERALD!" The girl wiped her hair from her face; it had plastered itself over her eyes.

"Great," Farore muttered as she judged the distance from the Tree to the canyon wall. It was covered in roots and vines, which would make an easy climb. She jumped. Someone screamed, probably her and a few Kokiris combined. Then she slammed into the wall so quickly it took her breath out of her and she began to fall. It was hard to get a grip on the slippery vines.

"Get her!" a boy roared. The Kokiri erupted in cheers.

Farore scrabbled for a grip. Her fingers closed around a slimy vine and she was jerked to a stop so quickly her shoulder popped out of its socket. Swearing in pain, Farore slowly but surely inched her way up the wall. Something whistled past her ear- an arrow. She had to move before she became a pincushion.

"Get back here!" the Kokiri shouted, waving their swords and spears. Luckily it seemed they hadn't had much training, because those that threw their spears fell short, and the spears would fall back to earth amidst screaming Kokiri.

Then Farore felt a sting on her back. They had started using their slingshots.

Farore gritted her teeth, enduring the sting of Deku seeds in her back, and crawled up the wall half blind; her hair was covering her eyes and she couldn't brush it away. With effort, she pulled herself over the edge of the canyon, where she lay for a few seconds, panting from exhaustion and blinking tears of pain from her eyes. Then she struggled to her feet and sprinted along the canyon wall, moving faster than the ground borne Kokiri.

Farore landed on the shop roof with difficulty. Everything was harder when you had a dislocated shoulder and it was raining. "Din!" she shouted. "Din?" She noticed the grass her friend had been hidden in had been flattened- probably from the gale that she had caused.

"Din!" she screamed. "Where are you?"

"I'm over here!" she heard Din shout back. "Hurry!"

Farore spotted Din by the entrance, waving her arms like a demented pair of scissors. She sprinted over, cradling her arm. Din looked scared; her long red hair stuck to her bag, and she was constantly wiping hair from her eyes.

"What happened to you?" Din asked.

"Not much," Farore replied as she began rushing down the tunnel. "We should run."

The two Oracles ran through the tunnel, feet pounding over the wooden slats of the bridge and into the night of Hyrule Field. The Stalchildren would be lurking, but they were easily outrun.

Din and Farore stopped as soon as they were in the open. Din looked Farore over. When she touched Farore's shoulder, the Oracle of Secrets winced.

"Are you okay?" Din asked, worry shining in her amber eyes.

"No," Farore said truthfully. "I dislocated my shoulder."

Din laughed. "At least you didn't break it. Did you get the Emerald?"

Farore took the round jewel out of her pocket. "I did. Two more to go."

"How sweet," a deep voice rumbled. Farore had never heard it, but Din's eyes widened in fear. "Now that you've reunited, you won't mind if I borrow her for a little while."

Farore turned around. A large man in bronze armor stood alone. His triangular helmet had three holes in the shape of a triangle, probably for seeing out of. He carried a gigantic mace in one gloved hand. Only his mouth was visible, and it was twisted into a cruel grin.

Farore had never seen the man before, but Din obviously had. She was trembling in fear. "You… you're dead…" she managed to get out.

"Ah, Din, my lovely rose," the man said. "I cannot die. I was never dead. My flame burns once more."

"Uh… who is this guy?" Farore asked.

"He should be extinct," Din spat. "Meet Onox, the General of Darkness."

Farore was dumbfounded. "But… he's dead."

Onox grit his teeth. "Ah, but I'm very much alive, as you can see. I've missed you, Din, my lovely flower. I think I'll pick you and set you in a vase of water, eh?"

"Never," Din hissed, finally pulling the Bow from her back. "I'd rather die."

"That can be arranged," Onox said casually as he removed a small blue crystal from his pocket. "However, I think that I will take more… humane measures." He threw the crystal at Din's feet.

If Din's eyes had been wide before, now they practically filled her face. "Run!" she shouted, shoving Farore away. She stumbled backward and fell to the ground, landing on her shoulder. A bolt of pain shot through her arm.

As Farore watched, the small crystal grew in size, growing upwards and swallowing Din in precious blue gem. Within seconds, Din was frozen in crystal like some cryogenic horror, eyes wide with terror. Even her eyelashes had been trapped in place, rendering her unable to shut her eyes.

"Oh, don't worry," Onox laughed, noting Farore's horrified expression. "She won't die. The crystal will hollow itself out and become more rounded. But for now," he added, plucking the crystallized Din from the ground and tucking her under his arm, "I think I'll take her with me. Thanks for the gift."

Grinning, the General of Darkness turned and left. Then he vanished in a smudge of shadows.

"DIN!" Farore screamed. "NO! COME BACK!" Tears streamed down her face as she fought to cope with losing another friend, but she lost the battle and gave into despair and pain.

Din was gone.

Nayru was gone.

What did the stupid necklace mean, anyway? What was the point of combining forces if the other forces weren't there? What was the point of this stupid mission if her friends were gone?

A delicate hand touched her good shoulder. Farore blearily looked up. "Now I'm hallucinating," she muttered.

The blurry outline of Nayru tilted her head. "You're hallucinating? Come hallucinate in Lon Lon Ranch, then. It's too dangerous out here." She lifted Farore to her feet and slowly led her alone the path.

Farore wiped the tears from her eyes. Nayru came into sharp focus. Farore poked her arm.

Nayru raised a slender eyebrow. "Are you checking to make sure I'm real?"

"N-Nayru?" she squeaked.

Nayru grinned and hugged her friend. "In the flesh."

"Ow!" Farore yelped.

Nayru immediately let go. "What have you gotten into?"

"My shoulder's dislocated. Can we talk about this later, after you explain how you survived?" Farore said pointedly.

Nayru nodded. "Fair enough."

* * *

><p><em>Read and review! D<em>


	17. Reunions

**Wisdom**

Nayru helped Farore into a chair. The Deity of Courage shivered from the rain. She apparently hadn't noticed her arm had a long gash and was bleeding like mad. Her arm was twisted at a convoluted angle, and her eyes had taken on a new depth since Nayru had last seen her.

"Tell me what happened to you," Farore said as Nayru hunted for bandages. "The last time I saw you, you fell over a waterfall."

"That wasn't fun," Nayru chuckled. "I'm not sure what happened myself. I think I narrowly missed the stone spires, and then I was swept down a channel from the lake on Pirogga Plain-"

"Lake Dyloki," Farore offered.

"-and through a small channel into Lake Hylia. I woke up there," Nayru finished. She removed a roll of bandages from the shelf. "Come here so I can wash out that scrape."

Farore glanced down at the scrape. "Oh," she said simply, as thought it was merely a secret that had eluded her. "I didn't notice it. I must've been too numb." She climbed out of the seat and walked over to Nayru, who proceeded to wash out the wound using a watering can. She winced, but otherwise held still.

"Now how did you get from the Plain to the Forest?" Nayru asked, hoping to distract Farore.

"The Woods of the Deep- a big patch of woods on Pirogga Plain," Farore explained. "We went inside and found the Regulans- pretty much just giant fairies- and we made a deal with the King that if we could get into the Forbidden Tower by sunrise, he'd let us leave through the Lost Woods."

"So the Lost Woods connect to the Woods of the Deep?" Nayru asked, partly to clarify and partly to calm Farore down, carefully wiping Nayru's arm with a cloth.

"Yep," Farore confirmed. "Only we didn't exactly figure it out until we were tired, and then we fell asleep, and then… well, King Eral wasn't too happy. I got in. That reminds me," she said excitedly. "The Shrine of Secrets. I found it."

"You did?" Nayru said incredulously. "Where?"

"It was the Forbidden Tower," Farore babbled. "I met Courage there, and she gave me a ton more power in every area of an Oracle- Harbinger, Deity, Muse, all that."

"Amazing," Nayru said in a way that skillfully masked the surge of envy she felt, but Farore could see too well.

"You're jealous," she said matter-of-factly. It wasn't even a question; simply a true statement. "I can feel it practically gushing out of you. You're jealous."

"No I'm not," Nayru lied, wrapping Farore's arm with a bandage. "I'm not jealous at all."

"Liar," Farore smirked. "It's okay. I have an idea of where your Shrine is."

"Where?"

Farore winked. "They don't call me the Oracle of Secrets for nothing."

Nayru was tempted to club her friend with a candlestick at that moment, but she held her anger in. She had an idea of where her Shrine was too, she reminded herself. "Sorry," she muttered. "So what powers did you gain?"

"Something along the lines of echolocation, control over wind, and I can read minds," Farore said proudly. Then she frowned. "Hey, I bet something happened to Din too when she found the Shrine of Seasons. I wonder why she never told us?"

Nayru tucked the end of the bandage underneath itself to hold it in place. She winked. "I guess we'd better ask her, then."

Farore nodded. "But first I think we should find Link."

Nayru's grin slipped off her face. "We don't need Link," she insisted. "We always have to be saved by Link. Why can't we save ourselves for a change, hmm?"

"But Link could be helpful," Farore argued. "He might be able to shed light on the situation."

"He also tells Princess Zelda what's going on in Hyrule," Nayru countered. "He'd tell her about us too."

"Not if we asked him not to."

"How are you so sure?"

"I just am!"

A knock on the door froze the argument. Nayru opened the door, shooting a spare glare at Farore.

Malon stood there. "You have a visitor," she informed the Oracle of Ages. "And I'd give her some respect." She walked off, revealing Saria standing behind her.

Nayru could swear she heard Farore's jaw hit the floor.

"Hiya," Saria said cheerfully. "I'm taking you guys to the castle. Princess Zelda wants to see you."

* * *

><p><strong>Hero<strong>

Link, his arm now bandaged, made his way to the throne room, where Zelda paced worriedly, dressed more casually than usual.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She looked up, startled. "Oh, Link. Saria contacted me and told me the Oracles were wandering the Lost Woods. That was yesterday. She hasn't come."

"The Oracles, hmm? Farore isn't easy to trick. She'd get Nayru and Din out in a heartbeat."

"That's the troubling bit. Nayru wasn't with them."

Link didn't bat an eye. "I can't imagine Nayru leaving Labrynna. She's too timid."

"You don't know her like I do," Zelda laughed ruefully. "She went with them. Count on it." She rubbed something in her hand, and for the first time Link realized she was holding the Ocarina of Time.

"You shouldn't have that out," he protested, crossing the room. "That's dangerous."

Zelda looked down guiltily, running her fingers over the Triforce symbol. "I know," she sighed, "but I needed something comforting." She sat down on the steps to the throne and played a familiar tune; it was the theme the market minstrels always played in Castle Town. "I'm not putting any magic in," she said, noting Link's panicked look. "It's perfectly fine."

Link removed his own ocarina from his bag and played the harmony to Zelda's own tune. Zelda, seeing him do this, quickly switched to a different tune, which Link seamlessly jumped into, though he raised a brow in surprise. Zelda winked and wrapped up the song almost as quickly as she started it.

"How do you know the most popular song in Clocktown?" Link asked. He remembered running through the streets, listening to the musicians playing that song.

Zelda winked. "It's an excellent holiday spot."

"Except on the full moon." Link shuddered.

Zelda nodded. "Except then."

"So what do we do now?" Link asked.

Zelda tapped the Ocarina thoughtfully. Link realized that her eyes did not suit her face; they were the eyes of one much, much older. That did not look right on the royal teen's face.

"I am content to wait for one more day," she said simply. "This evening, I am going out to look for them."

"What?!" Link said in shock. "You can't do that!"

"And why not?" Zelda asked sharply. "I am the Princess of Hyrule. It is only right that I understand what's going on."

"You can't go. I won't let you," Link blurted out. "It's dangerous to go alone."

Zelda winked and grinned. "I guess you'd better come with me, then."

* * *

><p><strong>Courage<strong>

Farore's shoulder still throbbed with pain- she had yet to set it back in its socket- but that was nothing to the sickening fear she now felt. Zelda knew there were here. They would be stripped of their titles, shamed forever. They had lost and regained friends. Din was gone, and Nayru and Farore were injured. All for nothing.

She could see Nayru leaning on the door for support of a broken ankle. Farore was going to offer Nayru a spell from the Tome to mend the bone. But now that Saria was here, Zelda would simply take the whole affair over in her usual manner and ignore the important stuff. Stupid monarch.

No, Farore decided. That's not going to happen this time. And so she stood up and said in as cold a voice as she could muster, "What does Zelda want with us?"

Saria's eyebrows lifted upward, unused to Farore being hostile. "She wants to make sure you are safe," she replied. "That's all she'd tell me. She wants you to come to the castle immediately." She emphasized each syllable in the last word, conveying its importance.

Nayru exchanged a look with Farore. The Oracles had already agreed they would try to stay away from Zelda because she had the power to strip them of their rank and of their powers- even those bestowed on them by the Goddesses themselves. They had been running from Zelda. And they would keep running.

Even if it meant going against the law.

"We won't go," Nayru said abruptly. "We are here on our own business. Tell Zelda to keep her nose out of it." And she slammed the door in Saria's surprised face.

Farore gaped at her friend. "I can't believe you just did that!"

Nayru grabbed a few small pieces of wood in the corner and began to make a makeshift splint for her ankle. "I can't either," she said grimly. "We can't stay here for long. We need to start running." Her eyes wandered to Farore's shoulder. "And, of course, there's still the matter of your own injury to deal with."

Farore nodded. "Plus we need to get Din."

"We need to figure out how to deal with this," Nayru said carefully, wrapping the wood with a bandage to keep it in place. "We need an order of events. We have one Spiritual Stone. We need the other two."

Farore touched the circular shape in her pocket. She'd nearly forgotten.

"And then, of course, we have to steal the Ocarina of Time and make it to the Temple of Time," Nayru added. "But should we get the next Spiritual Stone or go after Din first?" She tapped her lip thoughtfully.

Farore couldn't help smiling; she had missed this side of Nayru's personality. The strategist, the engine of the Oracles that kept them going and going. It was good to have her back.

"That's a tough decision," she admitted. "We should get the Stones before word spreads about us, but-"

"Who knows what would happen to Din during that time?" Nayru completed. "I know she's dealt with Onox before, but…" She shook her head. "He's alive. How?"

Farore shrugged. "Monsters always come back to life. There isn't much you can do about it."

"But Onox's essence was destroyed utterly," Nayru explained. "It's impossible that he's alive again. His essence was spread so thin it's impossible he could ever rise again. He was dead. He must be. Yet we saw him just now, and he took Din with him."

"Then someone revived him," Farore threw out. "Someone with immense magic power."

"Or two someones," Nayru muttered. "I was thinking… do you remember who was behind Onox and Veran when we first struggled with them? Do you remember?" The look on her face clearly showed she remembered.

Farore thought for a moment, and then she paled. "Koume and Kotake…?"

"Spot on," Nayru said gravely. "And they were doing it because…"

"They were trying to revive Ganon. My goddess, they're going to kill us all."

"It's only a theory," Nayru cautioned. "Just the same… if Onox walks again, it's safe to say Veran may as well." Her voice had lowered, and her eyes were hard, but Farore could see the fear in her royal blue irises. "And this time I'll be ready."

Farore stood, wincing in pain from her shoulder. "You're thinking of taking her on alone," she said bluntly. "Don't you dare. You're not alone." She held her pendant up. "See this? Remember when you gave this to me and Din?"

"Yeah," Nayru mumbled. "And I know what it signifies. But this is personal."

"Oh yes," Farore said sarcastically. "Veran possessed your body and used it to try to destroy the land of Labrynna. That's most certainly personal."

"It is to me," Nayru protested.

"You find the almost total destruction of your land personal?" Farore asked.

"It was almost destroyed because I was in a moment of weakness!"

Farore pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "We already have enough enemies. Let's not add each other to the list. Can you help me with my shoulder so we can get a move on?"

Nayru closed her eyes and sighed. "You're right. Some stand-in leader I turn out to be- fighting over something so minor. Din wouldn't have done it."

"Stop worrying about that now. We have to worry about getting out of here before the guards come."

They spent precious time figuring out how to pop Farore's shoulder back in place. Nayru wasn't physically strong enough, but she did have her creative mind, which came in handy quickly. She tied Farore's wrist to the open doorknob with several bandages and carefully tied Farore to one of the supports adjacent to the door. Then she gave Farore a rolled-up towel.

Farore tried to ask, "What's this for?" but the words were garbled. Nayru seemed to read her questioning look and simply replied, "You're about to find out."

This made Farore nervous. She was about to spit the towel out and tell Nayru to call the plan off, but then Nayru slammed the door hard, yanking Farore's arm back into place and almost yanking it out again.

Farore gasped in relief. "That feels so much better!" she exclaimed as Nayru untied her.

"Good," Nayru said grimly. "Let's move."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope<strong>

The leaf charm on Zelda's necklace released a chime, like a bell. Zelda touched the charm, and a window opened up in the air. Saria peered through it, just outside Lon Lon Ranch, judging from her surroundings. "Princess Zelda, I found them," she said. Her usually cheerful face was grim.

"Where are they?" Zelda asked.

"They're at Lon Lon Ranch, but…" Saria looked troubled. "They said to tell you to keep your nose out of their business."

Zelda flushed with embarrassment. "We need to get them to the safety of the castle. Tell Malon to keep them in Lon Lon Ranch at any cost."

"I-" Saria was interrupted by a loud scream as Malon sprinted past in the background.

"Morningstar! Sunshade!" she yelled. "Farore, Nayru, _what are you doing!?"_

Saria turned and gaped. "They stole… horses…"

Zelda tried to process what had just happened. Din and Farore had just stolen two horses from Lon Lon Ranch and had refused help from her. Normally, Zelda would hope there was a rational explanation to all this, but recent fears clouded her thoughts. She fell back on what had happened before.

"They've been brainwashed by Twinrova," she murmured. "Saria, contact the other Sages immediately. Tell them they must capture the Oracles at any cost."

"What will you do when you get them?" Saria asked, her image starting to fade.

Zelda gritted her teeth. "I'm going to throw them in the dungeon."

* * *

><p><strong>Hero<strong>

Link trotted back from the bathroom just as Zelda's charm necklace began ringing like mad.

Almost every single charm, except the leaf, was whining furiously. A sun, a flame, a fish, and eye with a tear, and a small round ruby protested and clamored for attention. Zelda touched each one and five windows shimmered into existence. Rauru, Darunia, Ruto, Impa, and Nabooru all looked livid.

"What are you thinking?" Ruto yelled.

"I'm thinking they've been brainwashed!" Zelda hissed back. Link winced. Zelda and Ruto had never been, and would never be, on good terms.

"Yeah, yeah, Twinrova or whatever, I'm guessing," Nabooru muttered. "You're probably wrong. Like always."

Zelda glared. "Oh, you're an expert on the subject, then?"

"No," Nabooru admitted, "but Nayru washed up into Lake Hylia. She didn't seem very brainwashed when she woke up."

"I found her," Ruto explained.

"Nayru washed into Lake Hylia and nobody told me?!" Zelda shrieked.

"She didn't want you to know!" Ruto hissed.

"ENOUGH," Darunia rumbled. The three female Sages quieted. Impa looked on severely.

"Zelda, why have you told us to capture the Oracles?" she asked calmly. A dangerous glint was in her eye.

Link rushed into view of the arguing Sages. "Wait, wait, wait. What's this about capturing them? I thought we were trying to bring them to safety."

"Princess Zelda thinks they've been brainwashed by Koume and Kotake," Rauru explained.

"They escaped," Nabooru reported. "Totally gone from Gerudo's Fortress, they were actually snide enough to leave a thank-you note." She held up a piece of parchment that read _Thanks, but the food doesn't sit well with us. Love, Koume and Kotake._

"They must think it's funny," Ruto commented.

"I'm taking no chances," Zelda snapped. "Last time I didn't deal with a problem right away, it ended quite badly." She looked pointedly at Nabooru, who suddenly became very interested in her curled slippers. Nabooru had a very bad habit of not telling anyone anything was wrong, which usually ended with her admitting everything after the other Sages had come to her rescue.

The leaf charm chimed. Zelda touched it and Saria's image fizzled into view. "Princess Zelda, I told the others about-" She caught sight of the scene around her. "Oh…"

Darunia sighed and rubbed his broad forehead with a massive hand. "Princess, please, let us be reasonable. The Oracles must be trying to solve something of their own accord."

Rauru nodded. "If I may offer my advice?"

The other Sages, plus Link, all nodded. Rauru's advice was always welcome.

"I would suggest only monitoring the Oracles, but not moving in to capture them unless they do something really terrible-"

Saria, who had turned her attention to a young Kokiri girl, suddenly screamed with rage. "THEY DID WHAT?"

Ruto blinked and leaned out of her window to get a good look at Saria. "What's wrong?"

Small Saria shook with utter fury, her teeth clenched. "They… stole… the… the… Ugh!" She whirled on her heel and stormed off. "WHERE'S MIDO?" she screamed. Link caught a glimpse of his old enemy's flaming red hair duck into a house.

The Kokiri girl peered through the window as it began to fade. "Oh, hello, Princess Zelda," she said as she ran after Saria.

Zelda blinked. "That didn't sound good. But I agree with you, Rauru. I will wait."

Rauru nodded. One by one, the Sages' windows faded away into air. Ruto waved at Link as she disappeared.

Zelda sighed, turned, and walked out of the garden. Link decided to stay. It was nice there.

* * *

><p><strong>Courage<strong>

"We're dead," Farore muttered. "We are so dead."

"Be quiet and aim for Death Mountain," Nayru replied. "We need to move quickly before the sun sets- or would you rather be stuck out here with the Stalchildren?"

"As long as we don't run into their daddies again."

Nayru patted Morningstar as he slowed to a trot. "We should get there before the sun sets at this pace. No point in tiring the horses out."

Farore slowed Sunshade down as well. "I wonder what'll happen now?" She looked behind her, as if expecting the entire army on their tail.

"I'm hoping the other Sages will help Zelda see sense for now," Nayru said after a few moments. "At the very least, we should be all right for now, as long as our stealing the Spiritual Stones goes unnoticed."

"Which I doubt," Farore muttered. "Saria probably knows by now. She definitely didn't earlier, but by now, she's probably gotten back to the forest. Spooky Sage powers to teleport and all that." She patted the Kokiri's Emerald, still safely in her pocket.

Nayru nodded. "Hopefully she'll get too mad to speak, and Zelda won't find out until later. Maybe it already happened." Her eyes narrowed with worry as she urged the horse onward, towards Death Mountain. "I wanted to explore the forest, too…"

"Why?" Farore asked. She couldn't help being curious.

"Not your concern," Nayru grunted. Farore could feel waves of disappointment flow off her friend, and decided not to pursue the subject.

The two Oracles finished crossing the Field and let the horses free once they reached Kakariko Village. Farore stroked each of them gently, and they whispered their songs into her ear. She nodded and let them go before following Nayru into Kakariko Village, which was alive with activity. Alan the master carpenter stood a sort of guard while he waited for his other carpenters to finish building what Farore knew would soon become the Kakariko Shooting Gallery. Cuccos flew free, exhilarated from the liberty the absence of the Hero of Time gave them.

"Our only problem should be the guard at the entrance," Farore guessed. "Other than that, it should just be the usual 'oh look it's the Oracles' hubbub."

She was right. As each villager spotted the two Oracles walking through their village, they waved and began to crowd around them. None of them, luckily, seemed to be suspicious. Farore decided that Zelda wouldn't have told the minor guard the whole story, if any of it. This was confirmed when they walked straight through the gate without drawing a glance from the guard, who was dozing on duty.

The mountain trail was brightly lit in the late afternoon sun. Shadows slanted towards the east, making the path up the mountain striped with darkness. A few tektites ambled about, not really targeting travelers as they had several years ago.

Farore stopped. "We aren't going anywhere until I fix your ankle."

"I'm fine," Nayru protested, swaying slightly. She clung to the rock face for support.

"Liar," Farore said calmly, digging into her Leafsatchel and pulling out a specific Tome volume. "Just hold still. Since when has my magic ever gone wrong?"

Nayru raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember when they arrested Ganondorf and came to you to find a hiding place? Who suggested the Twilight Realm?"

"Hey, that worked out just fine, right? I mean, I guess we could've sent an ambassador or something in to make sure they were alright with it, but they didn't really mind!"

"Yeah, yeah. You do remember how they nearly escaped because a certain somebody left the portal open too long."

"Eh, but they're still there, aren't they?" Farore found the page she was looking for. "Here we go…"

Nayru looked nervous.

"Oh, don't worry. I've been practicing on, er… squirrels." Farore set the book down in front of her and began to wave her hands in an intricate pattern. "Haella enkliina boohn nobae!" she intoned. "With these words of ancient power, I heal the ankle of the Oracle of Ages. Farore, hear my plea!" She pointed at Nayru's ankle.

There was a flash of green light, and it was over. Nayru stood easily and tested her ankle.

"Thanks," she said with appreciation. "It's a rare moment when I get to see you do magic."

Farore shrugged modestly. "You saw me do it with Aquamentus."

Nayru studied her friend. "You seem… different."

Farore shrugged. "If you think so. Let's go become felons, shall we?"

* * *

><p><em>Whew! Long wait, sorry about that. Lots of stuff happened. Also it's summer, I'm a teenager, and I got lazy.<em>

_Anyway, lots of stuff happe- excuse me. (NICOLE STOP LAUGHING AT MY PROFILE) Anyway, lots of stuff happened in this chapter! And I know some people are thinking I'm just sort of jumping around everywhere, but I'll explain in a bit with review replies._

_Guest with the short reply: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!_

_Guest with the really long review that held criticism: First of all, thanks for the crit. This is my first actual fanfiction and I want to make sure I'm doing all right._

_In regards to the characters: I know they seem a bit one note, I'm not experienced in writing so it's a little harder for me to see these things. That being said, it kind of made sense to me that the Goddesses would choose Oracles based on shared traits. So Courage would choose someone that might be brave to the point of rushing into things without thinking, Wisdom would pick someone who's more comfortable planning strategies than fighting and would be a bit shyer, and Power would choose someone who's between the two and basically becomes the glue to stick the three together. And their names come from the game as I'm sure you know, but the names in this story is both pure coincidence and means something important that will be unearthed later in the story. (Someone may have to remind me I said that.)_

_As for the logic on the plot... yeah, I can tell it's a bit out there, though a lot of it can be explained by explaining what's happened in recent years. I started writing this before the official Zelda timeline came out, so here's the timeline that's happened in the story: Link and Zelda are around 17-18. The events in Ocarina of Time (in this timeline Link stays in the future) and the Oracle games happened in quick succession, so essentially it was OoT Link in the Oracle games. The land is still scarred, everyone is still on edge about what happened just a couple years ago, and Zelda is worried about what happened just six months ago. After locking the Temple of Time and the Spiritual Stones were dispatched back to whence they came, Zelda instructed the Deku Tree, the Gorons, and the Zoras not to let the Stones out of their sight under any circumstance. She also knows the Treasures were destroyed and is looking for the Oracles so she can help. Meanwhile the Oracles are terrified that they'll be stripped of their titles for letting such a horrendous thing happen and think Zelda is going to do just that._

_Long story short, I happen to be a lover of outrageous plots and I'm mostly publishing this story to get experience about what to do and what not to._

_Additional Pylon: Sorry Malon's part was so short, she got like one line of screen time! :c As long as she doesn't throw a rock at my house and demand more?_

_Yeah, that's it I think. Read and review!_

_(Also, I'm changing my penname, so watch out for that.) u_


	18. An Army of Miniatures

**Hope**

Zelda entered Kyli's room. The candles were snuffed out, but Kyli's supplies- stolen undoubtedly from her sister Rika- remained. Her tarot cards were among them.

Like Rika, Zelda knew the concepts of tarot and even how to deal them, but unlike Rika, she was not a master and did not indulge in it regularly. So her experience was limited, but Rika had thoughtfully gifted Zelda with a guide to tarot when Zelda had gotten her first deck.

Zelda picked up the messy cards, intending to deal them in front of Rika in hopes that her power would affect her own dealing, but she tripped on a small bump in the carpet as she was leaving the room. The tarot deck spilled out in front of her, cards flipping over and lying face up.

Muttering a small curse, Zelda knelt and began to scoop up the cards, not bothering to set them the same way, for that was how a tarot deck worked. As she stood, however, the only face-down card caught her eye. She bent down, picked it up, and flipped it over.

_Death._

* * *

><p><strong>Wisdom<strong>

Nayru followed Farore up the Death Mountain Trail. Once in a while a tektite would foolishly wander near, and Farore simply slashed it in half with the Blade. "Stupid jumping creatures," she muttered each time.

Nayru regarded her friend. She had definitely changed in a way since Nayru had last seen her. According to Ruto and Nabooru, Nayru had been out for quite a while- several days, at the very least. It was a miracle she had survived.

_Miracle…_

Nayru glanced at the sky and sent a silent thank-you to Wisdom. An odd thought filled her head quite suddenly: Perhaps it wasn't Wisdom after all. But what else could have allowed her to survive? She shrugged the thought off and continued to follow her friend up the trail.

"To the right!" Farore said suddenly, pulling Nayru dangerously close to the trail's edge as a goron came rolling into view… headed straight for them.

"Are you crazy?!" Nayru hissed, making for the left side, but Farore pulled her back. "We'll get run over!"

"Trust me," Farore said, her emerald green eyes locked on the goron. "The slight angle he's leaning at… he'll pull away at the last second."

Nayru stared at her friend. Slight angle? She was betting her life on a _slight angle?!_

But Farore kept a tight grip on her friend's arm. Nayru could do nothing but watch with growing fear as the goron rolled closer… and closer… and closer still…

And then it veered away at the_ last_ minute to the left.

Nayru let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Wisdom."

"You're too timid, Ru," Farore grinned. "You gotta be full of courage, like me." She pointed at her chest proudly.

Nayru couldn't help laughing. "Come on, oh Goddess-filled one, let's go steal a priceless ruby." It felt good to make a joke about the seriousness that lay ahead.

Farore nodded, apparently sensing it was a half-serious joke, and started jogging back up the trail. Nayru followed the bouncing green pigtails in front of her. Since when did Farore put her hair in pigtails, anyway? They'd been in buns for as long as Nayru could remember…

"We're here," Farore suddenly said, stopping. "Goron City."

Nayru marveled at the vast chamber around her. It wound like a corkscrew down to the bottom, with a big hollow space in the middle. A platform hung by ropes high above the lowest floor. Other tunnels branched off into the rock. The whole place was alive with the rock-like gorons, rolling this way and that. A giant goron statue stood in the center of the lowest level.

"Well," Farore said, "we're here. Now what?"

Nayru shrugged. "The Ruby's bound to be kept in the chief's chamber. So we need to find it and get out of here before we're found."

Farore pursed her lips, looking around in thought. Finally, she pointed to a nondescript tunnel. "There. That's the getaway- it leads to the Lost Woods. We can get to Zora's Domain from there."

Nayru looked at her friend, startled. "How do you know that?"

Farore stared at her friend, mystified. "Listen to the wind. Can't you hear the Song of the Lost?"

Nayru shook her head. "No, I just hear gorons rolling around." She wrinkled her nose. "And an unpleasant crunching sound."

Farore shrugged. "Oh well. You'll hear it when we get closer." She led her fellow Oracle through the slightly confusing maze of tunnels, avoiding gorons as they went, purposely bringing Nayru near the tunnel she had pointed out earlier.

Nayru blinked in surprise as they passed the tunnel. Just as Farore had said, there was the faint whisper of the Song of the Lost. She herself had played the song on her Harp. It was an instant contact with the Kokiri Forest if she needed it. She wondered how Farore had heard such a thing. Then she heard something else.

"You're right about the Zora's Domain part," she said. "I hear rushing water and the smell of…" She wrinkled her nose again. "Fish."

Farore stared at her friend. "I was just using knowledge from the Tome. What fishy smell?"

"The fishy smell," Nayru said, staring at her friend. "The one that's coming from there." She pointed at the tunnel.

Farore shrugged it off. "Whatever. Let's go."

The "unpleasant crunching sound" Nayru had heard turned out to be gorons munching on rocks. As she watched, one large goron took a huge bite out of a slab of granite and chewed it hungrily. The jagged, crescent-shaped piece that was missing intrigued her. She could come back later when this was all sorted out, she reminded herself. If this was all sorted out.

The Oracles wound their way down to the lowest floor, into the belly of the cavern. The chief's door was open, and Darunia, naturally, was nowhere to be seen. Most likely he was somewhere around the Fire Temple, guarding it. He would be back before dusk. All the better for jewel-filching.

"Where is it, anyway?" Nayru asked, looking around the dirt room. There was a rug, a table, a statue, and little else. "Didn't each race take their Spiritual Stone back once everything was over?"

"Yep," Farore replied. "They took them back, just like Zelda took back the Ocarina. And hid them."

"Well, you found the first Stone easy enough, didn't you?" Nayru asked.

Farore snorted. "Are you kidding? I had to run into a guarded meadow and climb a giant talking tree to get the stupid thing! And I only knew where it was because said giant talking tree told me!"

"Calm down," Nayru soothed, but it didn't seem to be helping her fiery-tempered companion. "It has to be somewhere. Maybe just not… here." She looked around the room, gears turning. "Didn't Link once tell us there was a way to the Fire Temple through here?"

Farore shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention."

"Use your brain for once," Nayru teased. "What better place to hide the Spiritual Stone of Fire than the Fire Temple?"

Farore stopped pacing the room. "…Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because I did," Nayru replied. "But here's the catch: with the ruckus that you probably stirred up by grabbing the Emerald, the rest of the Sages are probably guarding their own temples."

"We haven't been caught yet…"

"You will be."

"Nobody seems to know what's gone wrong yet. You know Saria, when something bad happens she goes into this horrible rage and can barely speak."

"Someone will speak for her."

"Stop ruining my argument!"

"I'll ruin it because it's hopeless!"

Farore groaned. "Look, we know the Fire Temple's big. What are the odds of running into Darunia while we're there? We'll just find the stupid Ruby, run to Zora's Domain, and catch them by surprise."

"Darunia will be patrolling the area where the Ruby will be," Nayru mused. "So if we find Darunia, we find the Ruby."

"That's if Darunia is even there. We're basing a whole lot on chance."

"We don't have anything else to base it on," Nayru snapped. "Our time is running short. We'll be lucky if can run into the Lost Woods after getting the Ruby without being caught!"

"Then why are we wasting our time?" Farore asked. "Let's just go then."

"Fine," Nayru said. "Let's find the entrance."

"That's easy," Farore scoffed. As Nayru watched, the grabbed a ring on the front of the statue and began to pull. The statue slowly moved forward, revealing, to Nayru's astonishment, a dark tunnel behind it. "Express way to the Fire Temple. Let's go."

Nayru stared. "H-how did you…" she stammered.

"The Tome," Farore said, as if it would be obvious. She scampered into the tunnel.

Nayru waited until she could hear gorons rolling down to investigate before she followed. Or tried to. She ran smack into Farore, who was sprinting back.

"It's too hot!" she hissed. "We need to get a Goron Tunic or something!"

"They're coming," Nayru murmured. "Push the statue back- quickly!"

Together, the two Oracles pushed and shoved at the statue and barely managed to get it back in place before the first goron appeared at the door.

"Hail, sisters," it grunted.

"Hail, brother," the two girls said in reply.

"What is your business here?"

"We're just checking a few things," Nayru said. "Important Oracle business."

Farore slipped between two gorons and vanished from sight. Nayru felt sweat drip down her back, mostly from nerves and not the heat emanating from the tunnel beind her. The gorons looked suspicious.

"What kind of business, sister?" one of them inquired.

"Our business concerns only us and the royal family," Nayru replied nervously.

"But you are in our home, so naturally it concerns us as well," another goron said. "You are also in our chief's den, acting as though you are looking for something."

"We were looking for clues to a strange mystery that popped up in our land," Nayru said, thinking quickly. Farore slipped back in with something red tucked under her arm.

"Was this 'strange mystery' the disappearance of the Kokiri Emerald?" a young voice hissed. Nayru's heart sank.

The Kokiri army had arrived. Saria stood at the head of them, emerald eyes burning with anger. There were about twenty other Kokiri, all armed with Deku sticks and nuts, Deku shields, Deku Scrub leaves, spears, and even swords.

"Ehehehe… hi, Saria," Farore said weakly. "Where'd they come from?" she murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

"The tunnel, I'm guessing," Nayru whispered back.

"You," Saria said curtly, pointing her spear at the Oracle of Secrets. "Return what you stole."

"I'm not a thief!" Farore protested. "We're just borrowing it!"

Saria snorted. "Return it, now."

"Saria, please, listen to us," Nayru pleaded. "We need it for now."

"Are you being threatened? Is Hyrule in danger? We want to help and you won't let us!" Saria snapped.

"You can't help us," Farore muttered. "Oracle stuff only."

"I hate secrets," Saria scowled. "If you won't give the Emerald back willingly, we'll just take it by force, and we'll get the Oracle Outlaws in the process."

"Great," Farore groaned. "We have a cheesy nickname now."

Nayru rolled her eyes. "Now's not the time."

With that, the small army charged. Farore drew the Blade and assumed a defensive stance. "Get the statue!" she hissed. "I'll hold them off!" But unfortunately for her the gorons had joined in on the fight.

Nayru rushed behind her, grabbed the ring, and pulled. The statue refused to budge. She threw a panicked glance behind her; Farore was holding her own, but she wouldn't be able to for very long with twenty Kokiri and at least ten gorons swarming her. Even as Nayru watched, Farore finished a spinning attack and stumbled. She managed to smack the next spear aimed at her away, but twisted in such away that she was defenseless for the next few seconds.

Nayru reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of glittering powder. "Eyes!" she yelled, throwing it at the swirling mass of the fight. Farore immediately covered her eyes and the Silsand exploded into glittering, blinding light. A stun grenade-like sand that reacted with light. It left the gorons and Kokiri dazed for a few seconds, giving Farore time to catch her breath and Nayru another moment to yank on the ring that held the statue in place.

Just as the statue began to budge (Nayru was much weaker than Farore), the Kokiri and gorons climbed to their feet, clutching their aching heads. Saria still sat on the ground, stunned.

"You… you dare attack a Sage?" she sputtered.

"I'm sorry," Nayru grunting, yanking at the statue. "You didn't give me any choice."

Saria staggered to her feet. "You haven't given me any either."

Nayru felt something give. Stall her, we just have to stall her. "We did give you a choice, and you made the wrong one," she replied. "You fought."

"I don't like fighting! My entire life was turned upside-down by fighting!" Saria hissed. "I would rather you just came quietly!"

"That's not gonna happen," Nayru replied, swinging out of the way as the statue shot forward. "Let's go!"

The statue hurtled towards the Kokiri and the gorons, who scattered while Nayru darted into the tunnel.

"NAYRU!" Farore screamed.

Nayru glanced behind her, and her stomach dropped to her feet. Two gorons had grabbed Farore's arms and weren't letting go. The Blade somehow lay across the room. Farore was defenseless.

"Farore, hang on!" Nayru yelled, skidding to a stop and running back up the tunnel.

"No!" Farore shouted, kicking one of the red things she'd had under her arm at Nayru. "Take it and go! I'll be fine!"

Nayru scooped up the red thing (which felt like cloth) and threw one last desperate glance around the room. Something… there had to be something she could do… it couldn't end like this…

"GO!"

With a heavy heart, Nayru turned and sprinted back into the tunnel.

* * *

><p><strong>Hero<strong>

The Kokiri Forest faded into view as Link finished playing the Minuet of Forest. He blinked the sparks from his eyes and looked around. The forest seemed unusually empty…

"Link? I-is that you?"

Link looked around. Mido stood alone in the doorway of his house.

"Hey, Mido," Link said, walking over. "Where is everyone?"

"They went to attack Nayru and Farore," Mido muttered.

"Oh, that's go- WHAT!?"

Mido nodded seriously. "Farore stole the Kokiri Em-er-ald and Saria was mad."

Link stood there, speechless. Not Farore! What was going on!? First the Oracles evaded capture, then they stole a sacred jewel? Link knew the Oracles well. Farore would never have even considered stealing anything so important unless she was absolutely desperate, and even then…

"Where did they go?" he demanded.

"They used the portal in the Lost Woods to Death Mountain, but they should be back by- Link?"

But Link wasn't listening. He climbed up the vines and sprinted up the path to the Lost Woods.

He didn't have to wait, though. Someone was coming out.

"Farore!?"

"Link!?"

Saria scowled. Farore was bent over, arms tied behind her back. "Good timing, Link. Take her to Old Deku Tree."

"What!?" Link sputtered. "You wouldn't- you would never-"

"She stole the Emerald, Link," Saria glowered, "and she won't tell us where she hid it."

"You mean she doesn't have it?"

"We've searched her thoroughly" –Farore shuddered- "and she doesn't have it on her. Take her to the Old Deku, please."

"But Saria-"

"Link." Saria's eyes burned. "Take her to the Old Deku."

Link sighed and started to lead Farore away. Saria could be terrifying when she wanted to be, and with her awakened Sage powers, Link didn't really want to cross her. "What's going on?" he whispered.

"Link, please, Hyrule is in danger," Farore whispered back. "Th-the Treasures…"

"I know," he muttered.

Farore stumbled, her eyes wide with surprise. "You know!?"

"They were destroyed, weren't they? Zelda checked her connection with them, it's gone."

Farore was silent for a few seconds. Then: "That's why we're in this mess. We need to contact the Goddesses and we need the Stones but nobody will believe us and we're going to lose our powers and-"

"Quiet!" Link hissed as a Kokiri came near, presumably to act as a guard. "Look, tell me later."

"Mister Link, I can take her from here," the Kokiri said proudly. "Miss Saria wants you to go to Death Mountain and catch the last Oracle that got away."

Farore threw a desperate look at Link. Link mouthed "I'll come back" before turning to the Kokiri. "I'm going," he said, watching as Farore was led away, looked frightened.

He would be too, if he was in her place. The Old Deku was the stuff of nightmares, and that was putting it gently.

* * *

><p><strong>Wisdom<strong>

Nayru stumbled into the Death Mountain Crater. A wave of intense heat rolled over her, and she fell to the ground, giving in to exhaustion as the rush of adrenaline wore off.

Farore was captured. Din was captured. She was alone among the Oracles, and she would eventually be caught too.

The heat was making it difficult to think. She hurriedly unfolded the red cloth that Farore had gone to the trouble of getting. It looked like a red tunic. A Goron Tunic that could help her withstand the heat.

Nayru felt relieved. She quickly stripped out of her ankle-length dress and put on the life-saving garment. The spots vanished from her eyes and she could stand without feeling dizzy. The tunic was surprisingly comfortable, and fitted her perfectly, which was odd because it was fitted for a man. There was something tucked inside a hidden pocket and it was making Nayru very uncomfortable. She pulled it out.

The lava's glow gave the green gem an eerie glow. Nayru gaped at the Kokiri Emerald in her hand. Farore must have anticipated she would have gotten caught and passed the Emerald on to Nayru. She slipped the jewel into her Leafsatchel for safekeeping. Then she swung the sack over her shoulder and kept walking.

She came to a broken bridge. How to cross it? There was a piece of wood that overhang the bridge on the otherside. She knew Link had once crossed… what did the legend say? He crossed with chain in hand…

Nayru pulled out her Claw, aimed, and fired. The Claw latched onto the wood. Nayru felt her shoulder groan as she was pulled across the gap, swinging to safety on the other side. That hadn't been too hard.

She kept walking. The Fire Temple's entrance was set into stone, and a ladder led down into the mountain's depths. Nayru took a deep breath and started down the ladder.

It seemed to stretch forever. Neatly set blocks of stone gave way to rough-hewn rock and then to simple dirt. The tunnel stretched as Nayru felt the earth's weight press down on her. She could feel the pressure change in her ears but quickly adjusted.

Finally, when she was sure she was climbing into the center of the earth, her foot touched solid ground. She let go of the ladder, turned towards the final tunnel.

She was terrified. How had she gotten past the bridge? How had she abandoned her friend? What could she do now, other than muck things up even more by falling into a lava pit or not retrieving the Ruby they so desperately needed?

Nayru shook her head. Panicking wasn't going to help her. She needed to calm down and keep a clear mind. She reached into her Leafsatchel for something of comfort and her hand closed around something cool.

Her Stone. How had it gotten out of its box? She pulled out the dark, glittering rock. Just holding it calmed her down, keeping her cool.

She slipped it into her pocket and walked into the Temple, keeping her eyes facing directly ahead. She was worried that if she looked back, she would run. So she didn't.

And so completely missed the being that shadowed her.

* * *

><p>Hope<p>

Princess Zelda tightened the bandages around her face and slipped on her overshirt. She caught a glimpse of the insignia on it in the mirror: a single eye shedding a single tear, stained bloodred. The symbol of the servants to the royal family, the Sheikah.

Zelda smirked a bit. She remembered how, a year or more ago, she had worn this very outfit day and night, hiding from Ganondorf right under his nose. And at the same time she had slowly gotten closer and closer to Link, as time went by. Finally she'd been able to reveal herself, only to get caught in Ganondorf's clutches and forced to watch as Link battled for his life and the life of the land.

Those are the old days, she reminded herself, adjusting her hair so it flopped over one of her eyes. Those days were so far behind her she tried to never about them, but the battle-scarred land only served as a reminder of the carnage Ganondorf had caused. Subjects were still scared, but the hype was calming down. Things had to be calm if the land were to be restored to its former state.

That was why Zelda couldn't let anything else happen. If Twinrova was loose, and something strange was stalking the borders of Hyrule and Pirogga, she had to do something about it. Link was too set in his ways.

Zelda bit her lip. She didn't want to believe the Oracles were at fault at all. In fact, in ordinary circumstances, she wouldn't. But the fear resting in her mind from the pain and panic of the people a few years ago was forcing her to assume the worst. At the very least she had to find the Oracles themselves and get the truth out of them. Saria had updated her a bit ago that Farore was being held in the Old Deku- which made her shudder in horror- and Link had gone after Nayru in the Fire Temple. Din was nowhere to be found, which worried Zelda. Where had the Oracle of Seasons disappeared to?

She shook her head and adjusted the loops on her fingers. Wherever Din was, she had to be safe, or at least out of danger. Besides, it was all too likely one of the other Oracles knew. Which was why she had to go find them herself.

"My lady?" Zelda turned. Impa was standing in the doorway, Impa the nurse. She was still swathed in bandages, although she looked much better after a rest and a dose of the doctor's healing magic and a red potion or two. "What are you wearing?"

"I'm going out," Zelda muttered, sitting down to slip on the boots.

"You look like Impa dressed you and sent you off to military camp," Impa mused.

Zelda couldn't help but grin. It was amusing to hear nurse Impa talk about Sage Impa. The two were born to completely different races, but both had found their way into the service of the royal family. "No, I dressed myself," she replied, standing and admiring her reflection. With the spell to increase muscle mass that she had cast on herself, Zelda looked much like a man.

"Perfect," she murmured, grabbing the bag she had prepared earlier. "Alright then, Impa, I'm off."

"Where are you going?" Impa asked, confused as she stood out of Zelda's way as the princess walked through the door.

"There's some sort of monster at the borders," Zelda replied. "Someone has to go check it out."

"Why not send the guards?"

Zelda gave Impa a look. "They may be excellent at guarding the castle, but when facing an unknown threat such as this…"

"They turn and run with their tail between their legs," Impa finished, nodding. "Why not send Link?"

"He's doing his own business. Saria contacted me and told me he was with her, escorting Farore to the Old Deku until we decide how to deal with her."

Impa drew in a sharp breath. "That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"It's not for long," Zelda assured. "Besides, Farore is an Oracle. She won't be as weak as a normal Hylian." She stepped towards the door.

Impa put a thick arm out to stop the princess. "Send the guards instead," she said firmly.

Zelda pushed Impa's arm out of the way and kept walking. "It's only scouting, Impa."

"If it's child's work, then why not send the guards? They're more than competent for scouting." Impa looked at the princess with pleading eyes.

Zelda turned her gaze on Impa fiercely. Her eyes blazed with determination. "The beast has magical properties about it, and the guards are not suited for it. I will be fine."

With that, the headstrong Hyrule queen turned and walked off.

* * *

><p><strong>Power<strong>

Din banged weakly on the crystal. "Lemme out!" she croaked. "'S drainin' my energy… lemme out!"

Onox punched the crystal with a gauntlet, and Din shrieked as the whole thing rocked. But suddenly she found it easier to breathe.

"I need you alive," Onox grunted. "You will be mine as soon as the Dark Prince rises."

"You'll destroy the world!" Din hissed.

"And reshape it in our image," Onox amended. "Mortals will bow before us, and we shall rule them."

"You think Ganon's really going to reward you for letting him out of his prison?" Din asked. "And in such a ghastly form, too?"

Onox was silent for several seconds.

Then he laughed.

It was a deep, almost maniacal laugh, that stretched on for days, months, years. It was dark enough to make Din shrink back in fear.

"Oh, you silly, _silly_ girl," Onox chuckled. "You understand _nothing."_

"I understand Twinrova escaped," Din said. "I understand you and Veran were revived so you could summon Ganon."

Onox laughed again, and Din cringed.

"You understand nothing," Onox repeated, and Din got the feeling he was smiling under his helmet. "Summon Ganon? Stupid girl. He's already here."

* * *

><p><em>Okay, whoo! Chapter 18 out at last! I'll take down that little announcement thing in a bit. Also I've just been kicked into the public system of high school so I was kind of busy adjusting. Sorry!<em>

_This part's been written for months, and then the extra bits about Zelda and Din were thrown on a while later because I felt that it was too short. Hope you guys like that insight on Din's situation. I'm still debating on whether she'll do a prison break herself or whether someone else will free her. Ideas?_

_Also, check out my new story Powerless. It's moving slow at the moment but if you know what Wizard101 is, I'd recommend it. (Self insertion whooo)_

_And I think I want to write a Homestuck AU where the trolls are human and the humans are trolls. Hm. I dunno that'd be cool. Did I mention I'm writing a GS fic too?_

_I like to write._

_I think I'm rambling now. Yeah, I'm rambling._

_Oh, by the way, changing my pen name to Jennalaia. No more Sorceress! Mark it down guys!_

_Oh, one more thing: MEME'S MASK SCREAM._

_That is all._

_-Jennalaia_


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